It Can't Be Over
by Prepare For The Noble War
Summary: It wasn't love at first sight, but one summer at the Burrow Hermione and Bill just know there's more to be had between them than Ron being her friend and his brother. It wasn't intended, but love hit them quickly and all the pieces just fell into place. They thought that they'd have it easy, have a future, and they were both willing to wait for that day. Rating warnings inside
1. Chapter 1

**AN and story warnings: **this story technically contains sex scenes between a minor and an adult. It's all consensual just so you know, but if age gaps are not your thing, don't read. Please don't post harsh reviews. It's just a complete work of fiction based on more fiction. **And a note on Fleur Delacour** - no relationship exists between her and Bill prior to this story save for what I've actually typed out. She is also painted in a slightly bad light in the very end, so major Fleur lovers be warned of the upcoming epilogue in many chapters.

This work is finished and a prequel to a story idea I had but have not yet written. It's not a one shot, and there are 11 chapters. I will be posting chapters of this part in a timely fashion. Please review with your thoughts on this work even though I won't be editing this story - maybe any suggestions made can be put into the following parts. Thank you and enjoy!

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**Chapter 1**

* * *

In the pitch black of night, Hermione knew that it was far too early to be awake. And yet, she was, lying in bed as the ideal of sleep was forfeited to the awake part of her. Weighed down with exhaustion, she got up from bed. It was _two_, according to the clock, and she left her room slowly.

Appropriate with the hour, The Burrow was as silent as could be. As everyone and everything slept around her, Hermione's nearly silent footsteps may as well have been stomps and still nobody would wake for her. She was downstairs in the kitchen before she knew what she wanted to do for her night awake. The past few nights, in fact, she had been left restless.

Automatically going to the fridge to sort through left overs, she completely skipped over looking about the room. Therefore, she missed that there was somebody else painfully awake this night. She hadn't been able to find anything before she was shocked by a low voice talking to her.

"There's cake on the bottom shelf."

Hermione jumped with a quiet, childish squeal in fright. She whipped around to see Bill Weasley, suppressing his laughter, and failing. His chuckle was deep a light, but oh-so mocking. He was sat at the table with his own slice of left over cake. It hadn't been what she wanted, so she closed the fridge and slowly sat with him.

"You woke up this early for cake?" She questioned lightly, watching his handsome face.

He gave a slight smile. "At two? This cake isn't _that_ good." He responded in a voice just above a whisper. "I've been awake, studying for work."

Hermione could appreciate that work ethic, but at the moment, all she cared was that he was there. Something about Bill, since last year, seemed to have him stuck in her head. She smiled at his joke on the cake, and smiled wider when he finished speaking. After a few seconds of silence he took in her expression with a slight, calculating smile of his own.

"What? Have I got something on my face?" He questioned jokingly.

Brought back to the present rather than her thoughts, she shook her head. "No, not a thing." She swore. "If you did, it'd be too dark to know anyway."

"I don't know, I think there's enough starlight." He said with a glance to the kitchen windows. It was a very bright night, the moon having been full about three nights prior, and it was bright enough to see his face. Not that there was anything on it. "So, why are you up if not for cake?"

Hermione shrugged slightly, loose night shirt slipping off one shoulder. "I just wake up sometimes, and thought I may be hungry. I wasn't."

"You going back to bed?" He asked.

Honestly, she wasn't sure she could sleep, and rather the company. Maybe she'd linger downstairs until Bill went off. "Maybe later."

"Want to look over my boring work? That's sure to knock you out." He spoke with a grin.

She found herself agreeing, and he carried his plate with him while taking her out to the family room. They sank to the floor in front of the coffee table, looking at Gringotts paperwork. He droned on about curses and runes in an attempt to make her bored and tired. But even though he thought it wasn't interesting to anyone but himself, the way he spoke like he enjoyed it had her intensive. Hermione found herself caring about his job.

He spoke vigorously of an eventual expedition to Poland and she was grinning. "I think that sounds amazing." She told him.

"Amazing?" He asked with casual charm. He was the most laid back Weasley, rivalling the twins, but he did it with more calm than them, and did have some order. He was, after all, probably the brightest of the Weasley children as well. "You're supposed to find this boring and trot off to bed. I didn't mean to make you interested."

She gave a small laugh, looking down at the paperwork. "I think your job's wonderful." Hermione confessed, then caught his eye in the dim light.

"Well." He said, jokingly haughty as he leaned back against the foot of the couch. His long hair fell out of his face at the tilt of his chin and slight slouch. "Since we're apparently just chatting, how are you handling your short summer? Sixth year in the near future, seventeen so many months away?"

It was teasing and light. But _so many_ _months_ was inaccurate. "Actually, not even two whole months." She told him. "September nineteenth."

"I never knew. Many happy returns." He told her, despite the extremely earliness of it.

"Why, thank you." She spoke a bit proudly, hiding how flattered she felt. "And I'm looking forward to sixth year. Typical, isn't it? I'm a bookworm."

He nudged her. "Same, but don't tell anyone." He winked. As if they didn't all know – he was a prefect and head boy in school.

They just talked. A bit about school, but they drifted off from the subject of classes and books to personal things. Embarrassing moments, bad jokes they loved, their equally but differently frustrating families. Hermione couldn't help laughing and had to shush herself because she was afraid of waking up anyone else. Bill seemed the same, chuckling hard before he had to stifle it, though she doubted his reason was the same as hers.

Hermione just didn't want anyone else a part of this. It was selfish, but it was also private.

At some point they missed the clicking of the clock the first time the hour rolled over, because suddenly it was four in the morning and there were four distinct thunks from the time keeping device. At its noise Bill let out a low whistle, propping his elbows back behind him on the cushion like one would put their arms on the back of a bench instead.

"We've stayed up far too long." He commented with a grin.

"You mean _you've_ stayed up. I've just woken up." She pointed out.

There was a slight head tilt in appreciation of the truth in that statement. "Well, either way, I think both of us will be sleeping in when we finally get to bed."

She didn't feel quite tired enough for bed when she rather talk with him, but Bill must have been exhausted so Hermione nodded along. "You're right. We should get to bed – I hardly want Ginny thinking I've snuck out if she happens to wake."

When she got up, the older man put both his hands out with a silly look. Hermione just complied with a light laugh and pulled him up to his feet. She knew he did most of the work by how lightly she had to pull to get him up. Bill then took his wand from the table, flicked it, and all his work went into one easy pile to pick up.

They walked up to the first floor together, until they were outside Ginny's room. Hermione oscillated before opening the door, deciding to turn to Bill. "Goodnight." She told him. "I enjoyed our chat."

He smiled, having stopped. "Goodnight, Hermione." He told her, then leaned down and just kissed her cheek in kind, just like that.

She disappeared into the room with a hot blush that she _prayed_ he didn't see in the dark. She heard him continue up the stairs, waiting until he was a floor above before slipping into her burrowed bed. Just as she settled, there was a slight groan from Ginny, who appeared to be just barely awake.

"Who were you talking to?" The tired, half-sleeping girl whispered.

"Nobody." Hermione fibbed. Tired, Ginny accepted it and went back to sleep.

It felt nearly impossible to get back to sleep. She was sure she heard the single thunk of the clock hitting four-thirty before she drifted off.

* * *

Bill was just stepping out of the third floor bathroom late at night when he heard a door click below. It couldn't be any later than three, and nobody should be awake. He wasn't even up, just having stepped out of bed for a restroom break after hours of sleep. The sound, therefore, was intriguing. Maybe Ginny off to snog Harry, he thought jokingly – they fancied each other and so far nothing came of it, but he enjoyed teasing even if silently.

Pursuing an answer, he went down stairs instead of back to bed. The answer didn't come before he found that a lantern was on in the kitchen. He rounded to catch whoever was sneaking about, only to find Hermione sitting with a warm cup of milk cradled in both hands, staring off as she leaned back on the counter.

It didn't occur to him that her comment of 'sometimes waking up' meant being up so early so often. It was only two days since they spent more than an hour talking together. Bill took a moment, appreciating her sleep clothes. A saggy shirt that was too short, ripped somewhere in the midsection so there was a visible few inches of stomach, and shorts. Clearly nobody knew these were her sleep clothes – she always seemed to throw on long bottoms and a jumper before breakfast, at the least.

This was the same thing she'd worn two night ago, and Bill was surprised she hadn't caught him staring. Even now she didn't seem to notice him, so he knocked on the wood doorframe like he was entering her personal space. It cut into whatever thought she was having, because she quickly looked over.

"Ah, Bill. Were you working again?" She asked in a soft voice, maybe not melodic but smooth and quiet.

He stepped into the kitchen, giving her a light grin. "Nah, just heard a noise while I was up." Bill commented, leaning opposite her against the old, large dinner table. "Can't sleep?"

Maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed like her eyes flicked down to his shirtless chest. "Mostly." She murmured and sipped the milk that was nearly steaming.

"Does warm milk_ actually_ do the trick, because I've never had luck." He wondered aloud, just between them.

He felt compelled to talk to her. She arrive for the summer a couple weeks ago and despite having his own place, Bill was staying. There was just something about how she'd grown up and what she found funny. Or that she never put up with anyone and she had a great smile. It was just him being ridiculous, he thought, until they talked for so long the other night.

There was something, some part of him, that wanted to love Hermione.

"You know, it bloody doesn't, but it's habit." She agreed with him.

They shared a small laugh and Bill crossed his arms to push away the slight cold. He should get a shirt. "Well, since my work _isn't_ boring, I could hardly put you to sleep even if I was doing it."

"Trying to get rid of me? I was here first." She poked fun at him.

"No, I'd never get rid of you." Bill shook his head. She gave a small, coy look as their eyes met, then looked down and sipped the milk again. He had a small, probably improper idea. "Hey, how awake are you?"

"Um, _very_." She answered.

He nodded to the back door. "We can talk a walk? A once through the orchard and back would tire you out."

"We?"

"Well, I'm up too, aren't I?" Bill gestured to all of himself, to prove he was in fact physically there. Though, he was tired and would probably go right to sleep if he tried, not that he wanted to anymore.

Hermione glanced out the window, hesitating. "It's a bit _cold_." She said. "Neither of us are even fully dressed."

He trotted off to the living room, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch before returning. It was large and he draped part over him, holding out the rest the easily fit around her. "Problem solved."

Her eyes were on the open blanket for seconds before she put the glass down. Letting go of inhibitions, she slipped into the other half of the blanket and Bill closed it around them. He knew all the paths well enough that their bare feet wouldn't be hurt, and led the way out the door. The lantern in the kitchen dimmed until it turned itself off at the lack of people.

They got out to the trees and Hermione sucked in a breath. "I've never been out here at night." She said, head tipped back to catch the starlight between the leaves. "It's nice."

"Never?" Bill wondered. "Ron's not stolen you out to the broom shed for a snog?"

Her head whipped around to look at him in utter horror so quickly he was laughing. "Repulsive! Ronald and me? _Snogging_? Never, no, no way."

He was still laughing when relief washed over him. There was always a suspicion between the entire family that they may fancy each other. Ron's flushed refusal was always hard to read, whether he was telling the truth or not, but Bill could tell Hermione meant what she said.

"It's not funny!" She complained, but her face was cracked into a smile. "Stop laughing!"

When he didn't somewhere under the blanket she turned her arm around and tickled her fingers over her bare side. Bill leaned away, but was thrilled she was comfortable enough to touch him. "Alright, it's not funny." He caved, but a chuckle was still in his voice.

"Really, me and Ron? That would be like… Well, I can't come up with a more preposterous pairing." Hermione added.

"Sorry. We could just never tell if he had a crush on you or just had trouble identifying you as female." Bill fibbed.

"Likely the latter. I think he only noticed I was female in fourth year."

It just slipped out his mouth in his good mood. "Well, if he saw you in your sleep clothes, he'd most definitely know you were female."

"I-" She stuttered, then stopped. He looked down to catch that she may have been blushing. "I should have dressed. Only Ginny's really seen what I sleep in."

"It's _fine_. It's the same thing you were wearing the other night. I'm not wearing a shirt." He consoled, opening the blanket slightly to flash her teasingly. The chill made him pull it shut quickly. "You look lovely."

Hermione bit her lip, turning her eyes front. There were a few seconds where nothing was said, then, "You look, you know, good. As well. Not lovely, but maybe the male equivalent. Um… fit." She stumbled out.

"Thank you." He said simply, warmed by her flattery even if it was tumbling out nervously.

They spoke lightly, not as long as before but laughing as much, as they walked. Then Bill saw her to Ginny's door and said goodnight with an impulsive kiss to her cheek. He wondered how often Hermione was up early, because he wouldn't mind loosing sleep to make a habit of this.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN and story warnings: **As aforementioned this story is a prequel to another the I'm currently working on and will only be 11 chapters. So because this isn't the story itself, it'll move fairly quickly as far as their progression of their relationship and even skip a lot of time in later chapters.

Thank you very much for all the reviews and reads on my last chapter! I didn't think that there would be so many and this had made me feel very sort of validated so I'm going to just post this chapter immediately, though you will have to wait just a bit longer for future chapters. (By that I mean like 3 days instead of one, really)

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**Chapter 2**

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During the day, Bill worked, Hermione spent time with her friends or her studies, and she forced herself to think as little of him as possible. In the evenings he came back, always surprising his mother who was pleased for his visits but always asking why he wasn't home. He never answered. They'd all eat dinner split up, and go to bed.

But somehow in the nights, Hermione became his. She just couldn't sleep, and sometimes when she went downstairs he was already there. Other times, he came down a bit after her, but it was nightly. They'd poke fun at each other's inability to sleep through the night, and either talk quietly in the sitting room or go for a walk in the orchards.

It went on an entire week straight, and her curiosity got the better of her. It wasn't yet two in the morning and they were bundled together in a blanket, sitting down under a large tree at the other end of the orchard when she asked, "Don't you have your own place? Why do you stay here every night?"

He shifted closer and she hadn't a clue if it was conscious or just to share warmth. "I do, but I like the company here." Bill claimed. "I've only had it about two months, mind you. I lived at Grimmauld for a year. But with all that's happening I've often debated moving home."

"It makes everyone happy when you walk through the door." She had observed the cheer many times throughout the length of that summer. "I think Mrs Weasley would be ecstatic to have a son home during the year, due to how Percy's behaving, and with the twins moving out."

As he smiled, she pulled her legs into the blanket, against her chest. They couldn't get any closer, she thought, but the action made her lean due to sitting on uneven ground, and she was against Bill. He didn't react, shift, make a sound, nothing. He just accepted her weight and her heart pounded in her ears.

He looked at Hermione. "That decides it, then. I hadn't really thought about the twins leaving. And with Charlie away, Mum worries more than anything when we don't contact her at least once a fortnight. She still hates him for running off with dragons."

"I don't know who has the more dangerous job. Charlie with his dragons or you with the goblins."

"Was that a joke?" He asked, unserious as he almost howled with laughter.

Everything about him lit up and Hermione was just joining in, pleased. The sound died down eventually, him coming around to sanity slowly but her giggle dying at the warmth she felt when he put his arm around her underneath the blanket.

Then, a topic that she'd liked avoiding since she learned of it came up. "Are you sure you and Ron wouldn't pair off? He seemed intent on getting your attention during dinner."

Since Bill mentioned it, she consulted Ginny and Harry, who both seemed to think that it was something as well, so Hermione was stiff when talking about Ron. "He only does that because he's angered me and likes to get pity because I like to ignore him. He's playing victim." Hermione shot off quickly, a bit peeved at the memory.

"I don't think anyone's really pitying him. Me and Dad think he's acting like a fool when he does it." He told her. That made her look up at him. "And after you excused yourself, Ginny just called him dim and kicked him under the table."

"Well, that's why Ronald and I would never even get close to dating." One of many reasons, including the man sat next to her. "He's like a child. I've never met anyone so petty when it comes to fighting. Don't get me wrong – I care for him and love him as a friend, but he'll have to find a girl with a lower IQ to survive dating."

"Agreed." Bill stated simply. "So, do you like anyone? So I can tell everyone not to tease you and Ron? Otherwise we're having a free-for-all."

She was made increasingly nervous once again. How could Hermione tell Bill that for a year she'd always had an eye on him, or an ear out for how he was? That in the past month she was elated to see him every day? Or worse, that in a week her crush went from completely captivated to possibly, truly in love?

She made a soft, indicating noise that she had no idea how to answer. "Well, I mean- I, um, might." She murmured. "It's a very intimate thing, admitting you like someone, even to yourself. I haven't told anyone."

"So you do like someone." He sounded a bit different. Hermione gave a nod, heart pounding. If he started taking guesses she just may scream it out in embarrassment. "Well, for the next thirty seconds or so, can you pretend that you don't?"

It didn't make sense to her, brow scrunching but she just looked over at Bill. "Yes, sure." She told him.

He seemed to gain some nerve, sit taller, look bigger. Then, Bill met her eyes fully and kept that contact. "The thing is, I sleep through the night. Every night. I don't get up for no reason to venture down to the kitchen, but you did so I've been coveting this time with you. I could use the hours of rest to deal with Goblins, trust me. And I do have my own place and don't need to stay here but since I found out you were here I couldn't really resist."

Her lips parted as her mouth fell open slightly in surprise. He went on, still having fifteen of thirty seconds. "I'm also _painfully_ aware that I'm nine years older than you, and you can ignore me, but I want to tell you that while half of me is saying run away, the other half is happy to talk to you and saying that I might be in love with you."

It was the first time anyone confessed to her. The first time anyone who liked her did anything but stare, considering the only _one_ in the past was Viktor Krum, classically horrible with words. Right now Hermione resembled him, just a bit. She couldn't speak and she only stared up at Bill just wondering how to beg him to say it again or if she should tell him that her feelings were the same, minus the extreme awareness for age.

Sensing she wasn't speaking any time soon, Bill piped up, "It would be really kind of you to let me down softly now."

"No." Was the first word she said. It was enough to get her tongue working. "Bill, I don't want to let you down at all. I- I rather… well, do _anything_, but to tell you that I don't like you isn't on that list."

He didn't seem surprised or nervous. He just beamed, brightening up her world with an easy going, beyond happy smile. "So if I wanted to kiss you…"

"Don't ask! Just kiss me." Hermione urged him on, unable to keep a smile of her own off of her face.

It was almost an order and Bill took his time despite. His arm already around her, he tucked her into him more while shifting to turn. Hermione could hardly think or believe that he was actually going to kiss her. Any moment he'd pull away and say it was a joke, wouldn't he? But his nose brushed hers softly, his eyes closed, and then his lips touched hers.

Barely a graze, but enough to make her own lashes flutter down so she couldn't see. She felt the air as he pulled in a slow breath, then kissed her again. More pressure, but caring, mouth just closing slightly over hers. Hermione made sure to kiss back, intent until he pulled away. Then she unconsciously leaned to try and keep the contact, tucking herself more under his arm.

It didn't feel wrong like it should have been. He was in fact twenty-five, to be twenty-six in a few months if she recalled correctly. But she was also sixteen. In muggle law that was age of consent – or were there boundaries if the other person was so much older? She hardly cared. Soon she'd be seventeen, and in the wizarding world that was when _everything_ was legal. And so far this was just a kiss, so she wasn't worried or regretful.

Especially when he carried on kissing her at her lean. Hermione's lips were lightly parted and Bill tucked in to close his mouth over her bottom one, drawing it with barely a graze between his teeth. It was new territory compared to the kiss, shift, kiss, shift of snogging Krum, which was once and for no more than thirty seconds. But she remembered what he said: whoever she was kissing, she could touch.

So her hand moved under the blanket to hold Bill where it felt comfortable, fingers resting over his ribs on one side. Then that short time ex of hers was out of her mind completely. If not, the way his lips fluttered over hers before deepening the kiss certainly would have pushed him out.

For a few minutes there was just calm passion and absolution from keeping all her likes a secret. It was freeing, she was giddy, and her heart hadn't slowed so she was also a little worried at its incredible pace. When Bill pulled away, it wasn't fully, and he pressed his forehead to hers before parting. Her eyes opened and a smile no doubt stole over her pink and swollen lips.

He returned it, then chuckle. "So, um, that bloke you fancy?" He wondered.

"I'm not so easily charmed that your words would make me snog you, unless _you_ were that 'bloke'."

Bill pulled her to him with both arms, the blanket falling open slightly but not enough to chill them too much. He kissed her forehead tenderly. "It's not charm. I meant it." He said. "It might not be ethical, but I have been falling in love with you every day you've been here."

"I think I feel the same." She told him. "You caught my eye last summer but since we've started talking… we've gotten closer and I _feel_ more." She explained.

He agreed and scrunched his nose at her warmly. Hermione scrunched hers back, and they both gave a small laugh.

It was a silent fact that nobody should know, and an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't tell. After kissing just a bit more, they walked back into the Burrow and Bill left her at her door with a quick and quiet peck. He made a show of moving to the stairs with a happy bounce in his step before she tucked into the room. Ginny was fast asleep, and so Hermione had to suppress herself when all she wanted to do was scream happily into a pillow.

* * *

Bill had the most distracted day of work. It would have been awful no matter what, with his happy mind on Hermione. Kissing her, holding her, the smell of the orchard and her hair and _everything_ about the night. It only got worse when she came down in her pseudo sleep clothes, that jumper and long bottoms, and offered to put back his hair. It was a casual offer, a kind smile on her face, like she'd do it no matter what their relationship was.

Something about having Hermione Granger brush his hair and tie it back ruined Bill. He now had a physical reminder of her, at the back of his head. She was better at tying it back than he was, and while he usually had to fix it midway through the day, her knot stuck.

When he got back to the Burrow, dinner was being pulled from the oven and everyone was starting to set themselves around the table. The closest he could get to her was across the table. They shared a quick look and she gave this little, knowing smile. Good, she didn't seem to regret anything, because that would have just broken his heart.

A bit into dinner, his father asked, "How was work, Bill?"

"Fine." Was the standard answer. Though he added, "Today we did set a date for this expedition that I've been planning, however."

His father seemed a little proud but the only one who really cared was Hermione. "The one to Poland?" She asked him excitedly.

He gave a nod, smiling. "Yes, that one. We've been given permission to dive into this cave to search for treasures and any writings."

"That's great! If you need any brushing up on Germanic runes, I got perfect marks on Elder Futhark and Long Branch in Ancient Runes." She offered.

In his chest his heart pounded to know she was earnestly interested. "That'd be perfect. I can handle Futhark, but Long Branch always sort of _had_ me in school." Bill nodded, grinning.

Her nose scrunched in reply, a smile on her own face. It didn't matter that they were obvious, and probably looked so gleeful to be in each other's company. Nobody would ever suspect either of them to care for each other, let alone be slowly and surely falling for each other. Certainly never to the point of snogging.

So despite their looks, his mother just asked, "And when's this expedition, dear? If you're going to be gone another six months-!" Molly cut herself off in a tiff.

"I'll only be expedition head for two weeks to check for curses and gather what books I can, if any. It's scheduled for September sixth, on, so that I can see everyone off to school, gather a few things, and head out."

It would also be a good distraction for when Hermione left the Burrow and he found himself alone. He was optimistic they'd last.

"Good." His mother said haughtily. "I don't know what I'd do right now if you ran off like you did in Egypt, not even writing me for months! It's just been such a pleasure having you around this summer, and last year. To have any son around."

He remembered what he and Hermione spoke about without looking at her. "Actually, I'd like to move back home, if it's alright?" He posed the question, looking to both his parents. His mother gave an immediate cheer. "I've just been here every day anyway and it's more difficult to travel when you've got a flat to worry about. I'd love to live here, just for a while."

Both his parents were happy and chanting about how they'd have a son back in the house during the school year.

That night, like the night before, Hermione was his in the dark. Always his to covet away from the family for their private talks. They didn't leave the living room this time. He came down just after her and they sat about going over runes like they said they would.

But he was distracted. They sat there with an old book of his for studying and whispering in their sleep clothes. Bill kept looking over, catching he light on her bare side of back, her legs crossed under her. He liked listening to her talk and everything, but he wasn't paying as much attention when all he wanted to do was make sure that they were still where they were the night before.

So, slowly, his hands slipped under hers, palm up to cage her fingers in his. Hermione stopped mid word, and he could see a smile form on her profile. When she looked at him, Bill was glad that her hand was holding his back.

"You're beautiful, you know?" He told her in a hush, thumb stroking the back of her hand.

"Please! I look a mess." She denied. "I've got bed hair, for goodness sakes."

It didn't matter what her hair looked like to him. He just knew it was unruly and could care less. "Hair doesn't make you beautiful, Hermione."

She broke out into a soft laugh. "No, I guess it doesn't." She commented, eyes falling. "I know I said we'd study, but would you mind if we continued another time?"

"Whatever you want." He agreed, flipping close the book on the table.

She seemed a little nervous. "Would you like to kiss me?" She asked.

"More than anything." Bill replied and moved in close.

It was Hermione who technically initiated it, leaning in to close the space. And he didn't mind one bit. It showed that this was mutual, and he hoped more than anything that it went somewhere and carried on for a very long time. It had been a while since he felt so completely drawn to a person. He doubted he'd find this again if they split.

There was no witch out there like Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN and story warnings: **This chapter contains scenes of a decently adult nature. You've been warned! Also a quick thank you to my other reviewers, and readers for the odd popularity that this has gotten in such a short time.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Hermione entered the kitchen for breakfast with Ron and Harry, giggling over a toothpaste stain that took up a huge spot of Ron's Chudley Cannons shirt. Even he was humoured because the Chudley Cannons were now the cudley cannons, and the mind just added that extra 'd' to make them cuddley. Spelling mistake or not, it was funny.

As they did, Bill was sat at the table, wearing one of Ginny's headbands. Hermione tried to hold back a giggle. "Ha, ha." He said condescendingly, looking tired.

Last night they'd sort of ended up having a bit of a run around as she refused to let him tickle her, and as someone who needed the sleep, Bill was obviously tired. She felt momentarily guilty but it was his fault because for three days now she was telling him he didn't need to be up with her. He ignored the statement.

"Want me to tie it back?" Hermione offered with a small point to his hair.

Bill just grumbled, probably in agreement. Ron sat with a miffed expression. "He can do his own hair. It's his fault he likes to keep it long, anyway." The boy retorted.

Hermione just searched her pocket for a hair tie and grabbed a brush ever present in front of the mirror in the living room. With so many boys some were forced to fix themselves out the door. "Seriously, Ronald, it's just a favour. Besides, tying your own hair back is hard. I do Ginny's sometimes and she does mine."

"My knots always come loose." Bill agreed.

"Well, I'm not tying it. I'm going to use a hair band." She told him, putting the band around her wrist before ridding Bill of Ginny's headband.

"A hair band? What's a hair band?" Arthur asked as he came into the kitchen, newspaper under an arm and Ginny half a step behind.

The sister of the boys answered. "It's a little muggle stretchy circle that goes around your hair. It's much easier, and holds better. Hermione gave me about fifty for Christmas two years ago." Arthur seemed interested. "I'll show you later, dad."

Hermione just brushed back Bill's hair was Mrs Weasley finished up the cooking. She was careful of his fang earing, leaving the few short pieces in front out of her hands as she slicked it back. All of her loved the feeling of his hair. It seemed a more vibrant red than all the other siblings, and was smooth between her fingers. She was nearly envious but would accept her curls now that she'd used every jinx in her scholarly arsenal to keep them from frizzing.

When she finished wrapping the band around his hair, she tightened it slightly and took a half step back. Bill's ponytail came down right between his shoulder blades, hidden under his work suit, but she could imagine them bare after how much she saw him shirtless. Not reacting to it, she pat his shoulder.

"There you go. If it feels loose, just pull your hair to make the band tighten back again." Hermione told him.

His hand slipped over hers for a brief moment, just as he said, "Thank you," and then it was gone. That was the most contact they would ever have in front of his family.

The days were growing shorter and time was gaining on them. It had been a week since they first kissed, and looking back it felt like less, but late at night when they were together it felt like they'd been dating a lifetime. All that was certain was that school was in 29 days, which didn't feel like enough.

"It's just weird that you did his hair." Ron commented as Hermione rounded the table to take her seat across from the eldest brother.

"Honestly, Ron! It's not odd when she does Ginny's hair or helps you with your school work, but brushing Bill's hair is?" Molly chimed in with a teasing scold to her tone.

That shushed the boy quickly because his mother was the all reining ruler of this house. If she said it wasn't odd, it just wasn't.

She set the table and told everyone to tuck in. As people filled their plates, she went back to the subject. "I think it's a great thing that Bill and Hermione have started talking. I don't think I understood exactly what Bill's job was until she explained it." Molly told them. "You two are alike. Intelligent and studious, with just enough mischief. Of course, Bill more than Hermione – how I wished you'd cut your hair and take that _thing_ out of your ear."

Bill and Hermione just laughed. They hadn't realized they'd talked enough during the day to be noticed. At least it was as friends. "Mum, it's just my hair. At least I haven't got a tattoo like Charlie." Bill commented.

Shock filled that woman's face. "_Charlie has a tattoo_?!" She absolutely shrieked.

Molly raged through breakfast and was off to send _several_ howlers to her second son in Romania. Ron, Ginny, and Harry wanted to watch, while Arthur went off to work. This left Hermione and Bill, since the twins were off setting up their shop, which would open the upcoming Monday.

The two took the dishes to the sink in courtesy of Molly. "I can't believe you ratted on your brother." Hermione giggled.

"It just came out." Bill told her with a grin. It certainly didn't just come out, he planned it, but Hermione pretended not to know that mischievous look.

"So what is it? His tattoo?" She asked, bringing the last of the plates to the sink.

"A dragon."

"Obviously." They both chimed together.

Bill started the dishes up on washing themselves with a flick of his wand while Hermione leaned with familiarity against the counter. He took up the space in front of her, body flush with hers as large hands lied hotly on her hips, the warmth seeping into her skin. It was the first time he got to touch her during the day, and while a couple should feel the thrill of sneaking around at night, the perfect light and possible company of the day was more of an adrenaline rush than their early morning adventures.

"Bill, if someone comes back downstairs…" Hermione started as he leaned in.

"Then we'll hear them on those old squeaky boards." He assured her before stealing a kiss.

Her hands went up to hold the lapels of his suit coat instinctively, keeping him near. He was influential as a kisser. When his mouth nudged hers a certain way, she found herself parting her lips. It was a passionately slow kiss, his tongue slipping over the entrance of her mouth lightly before she let out an approving noise. Then he deepened it, only just. Just enough for their tongues to touch, and then he drew back to make it more tame again. It disintegrated to little pecks, and then he drew back totally, save for his hands.

"I do love you, Hermione. So completely that I should be scared." He told her.

Even summer heat couldn't make her feel this warm. "I love you too, Bill. I've never been so sure of anything else."

It was officially the first time they shared those words without them being hypothetical or the saying they were falling in love. It didn't matter how fast they were, things just felt right.

He leaned in dramatically, ducking down to press a kiss to the exposed skin of her neck. "Alright, I've got to go to work." He told her, not sounding terribly pleased.

"Oh, you love your job. Don't act like it's impossible to leave for work." She smacked his arm. Bill laughed in appreciation before saying a quick goodbye and moving to the next room to use the floo.

For a little while, Hermione stayed leaning on the counter chewing her finger nail softly in thought. She was so incredibly deep in her own mind that she didn't, in fact, hear the squeak of the stairs. She nearly jumped at the sound of Ginny's voice.

"Hermione! Come on, get dressed. We're going to hang out in the field with the boys." Ginny told her. "Who knows, maybe they'll both come to their senses and snog us rotten."

"Ginny! I do not like Ron in that way." Hermione complained, starting to follow her.

"So? It's not like you've got a boyfriend. It's just a snog." Ginny teased. "Have you got a boyfriend?"

"And I will not lead your brother on just so you can have a giggle." Hermione carried on talking like she didn't hear the question.

Either way, they both got dressed and met the boys outside.

* * *

At the beginning of that summer Bill would have never fathomed that he'd actually date one Hermione Granger. However, he had laid eyes on her when she's first come to the Burrow, heard her talk, and somehow just fell incredibly head over heels. It wasn't love at first sight, not when they met two years ago, and it wasn't even love at first sight at the beginning of this summer. It was more instinctual, a happy little nudge telling her to know her, kiss her, touch her. He was glad he followed it every moment after they got together.

But he was constantly afraid of pushing his luck, because he _was_ older than her. She might not be ready or interested in the things he was ready for and looking forward to. He certainly was going to push. It was why they were together nine days and only got to snogging. Bill wasn't going to do a thing to ruin what they had because he truly did love Hermione.

Then this night, as he was about to go downstairs, he opened his door to find Hermione sneaking up to this level. She put a finger to her lips to quiet him and came to his door. She gave a small nod, like a question of whether or not he'd let her in. Bill did, but with hesitance.

The moment he closed the door he turned on her. "You can't be in here!" He whispered, quieter than ever. "My mum and dad's room is right there!"

Bill pointed up. Through the ceiling was his parents' room. They could hear things three floors below, so of course they'd hear them directly under their room. Hermione threw him a look.

"What kind of wizard are you? Silencing charm." She murmured with a little smirk. He liked when she smirked.

Gathering his wits and suppressing a chuckle, Bill got his wands and cast the spell. As soon as he had, Hermione slid her arms up around his neck. She was shorter, so his arms snaked around her tiny waist to lift her slightly and kiss her deeply.

There wasn't a place to sit other than the bed, so that was where they moved. Just kissing, for a while. They'd been experimenting with tongue for days and while he could tell Hermione was new to it, she was also getting fantastic at it.

The first move was hers. With one hand low on his back, her other slipped to the one he hand on her knee. She took it and he thought she'd just like to hold it, until she placed it high on her ribs. This was slightly under that half-length shirt and, shameful as it was, he knew she never wore a bra with the thing due to pert nipples in the cold outside all this time. The placement of his handmade he draw back slightly to suck in a breath.

"Hermione…" Bill wavered, opening his eyes to meet hers.

"I love you." She told him. "And I trust you."

He moved away a little more. "I don't know why! Anyone else would look at us and see my age and think I'm taking advantage of you." He spoke mournfully. He was just worried she'd change her mind too late.

"The only people that matter to our relationship are you and me. And I trust you more than anything." She assured, both hands cradling the back of his neck. She soothed him with small circles of her fingers against his skin. "I'd believe you if you told me you were the one who hung the moon in the sky."

As two book smart people they both knew how incredibly much that meant. "That's so irrational." But Bill was smiling as he said it. "Want to hear how I did it?"

Hermione gave a giggle and kissed his nose before resting her forehead to his. "Right now all I want you to do is touch me, Bill. Just touch, for now, but I want it more than anything."

His mouth stole over hers on her last words. He waited until the thought of hesitating was gone before he let his hand rise and stroke over the warm mound of her chest. A little nipple grazed under his palm and Bill could feel that her chest was larger than her shirts implied. A little moan came out of the beautiful young woman in his hands as his other went under to hold her other breast.

This confidence grew in the both of them, until she was lying back and his mouth was no longer on hers. He was laying low between her legs, kissing her collarbone and her shoulder left bare due to the way this old, loose shirt hung. Then he moved down, pushing that shirt up to expose this new territory. Hermione sat up for him to lift the shirt completely off over her hand.

She lied half naked under him, gasping for air. Bill appreciated to sight of her immensely before delving down to leave wet kisses in her slight cleavage. As his tongue blazed over her sternum, she pleaded by only saying his name. When he gave her mercy and took one of those pink nipples into his hot, cavernous mouth, Hermione moaned.

Bill suckled and nipped at her intimate, sensitive flesh. Savouring the taste of her skin. He'd pull back from one wet nipple to blow cool air on it before moving to the other. Selfishly, he stayed low, pleasing her until her hands buried in his hair and then until he missed her mouth. Then they kissed, long and hard, naked chest to naked chest. He was aroused but if she felt it she ignored it, and Bill wouldn't acknowledge it. Tonight was not the night to take her for the first time.

When they put their hormones to rest, if only some, Bill lied under Hermione, holding her to his chest. They'd have to make sure not to sleep there together, but he didn't want her to leave quite yet. After she fixed his hair so neither of them were lying on it, she rested down against him, chin ontop of her hands, and she smiled with a twinkle in her golden brown eyes.

"So how did you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?" Bill responded huskily, never happier and basking in their activities even if he didn't get off.

"Hang the moon in the sky?"

Grinning, he thumbed her shoulder where he held her, coming up with a good tale. He went into elaborate detail of building a magical ladder into the heavens, among constellations, and taking a single plain stone before deciding to charm it into something fantastic. The entire time he spoke, Hermione seemed enthralled and amazed. She told him it was quite beautiful, to turn an ordinary rock into such a shining marvel.

Not long after that, they kissed, she dressed, and Hermione snuck back down to her room, leaving Bill to sleep. He did, and well, but not before a hand snuck down into his pyjama bottoms and he grasped himself, still decently hard. Remembering her taste and still feeling the warmth of the bed where she'd been, he gave into the temptation of touching himself until he came, an eruption of pleasure. Then he scourgio'd himself clean and rolled into her spot, going to bed with Hermione on his mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Would you marry me?" Bill wondered one night with Hermione, the two having gathered two blankets to lie down in the cover of trees at the other end of the orchard.

Hermione nearly choked on nothing. "_What_?" She gasped out.

They'd been together all of two weeks and he was asking? Sure, he'd seen her topless and vice versa, but marriage? Touching of breasts did not equal a wedding! Panic hit her.

"Oh! No! Not now." Bill corrected urgently, seeming as alarmed as her. "Merlin, there's laws against that. No. I mean, in two years, or three, however long you'd like to wait. If you were out of school and I asked you to marry me would you say yes?"

She remained in her shocked silence for a bit longer, which had him rambling on. "I don't want to scare you. I shouldn't have even asked. I'm just- I am nine years older and this is about the age I always thought I'd might start thinking about all that. I've been career minded, you understand."

"I understand." She relaxed back into his arms, the two of them simply cuddling and looking up at a break in the trees to see the stars. "It wouldn't scare me away, if you'd just said you eventually wanted to marry. And I would. If we lasted and you'd ask, I certainly would."

"Don't say _if_, Mia." Bill complained, using the nickname he'd picked up. As long as it wasn't 'Mione or something like Ron would say. She'd hate to be reminded of him when snogging Bill. "In my book, there isn't an if. I love you and I will always love you."

She turned just slightly, to look at his face as he stargazed. "I could never stop loving you, Bill, but there's other reasons people break up. Like meeting other people, the _distance_, or family feuds – especially your family, considering I'm Ron's friend. And then there's Harry, and Voldemort, and _war_ impending." Hermione reminded him. "No matter what I'll love you forever, but we might not be together for it."

He refused to look at her. "I don't care about anything else. I want it to be you in the end, the one I end up with. It's just this feeling I have but I'll never love anyone like you."

"I was never any good at divination, but I feel the same." She offered in slight humour. That at least made him smile, if only just. "So, enlighten me. What would a Weasley wedding be like?"

He chuckled. "Oh, you know my mother. She'd go over the top to fit our every desire and her own, bring in _all_ the family and friends, the works. It would be more for her, but she'd make sure that it was what we wanted. Especially if we were the first Weasleys to marry out of her kids."

"You say that like I'm already engaged to you." She felt lighter about it all, knowing he'd wait years.

"It's a promise. That _when_ we last until after school and the war, everything, I'll ask you sometime. Just a promise, not an engagement. Not now." He told her.

She may as well have been engaged then and there, but Hermione didn't mind. "There's something beautiful about this." She told him. "Planning a future with you. I should panic, shouldn't I? But suddenly I have this desire to actually plan this silly wedding."

"Then let's." He told her. "I think it'd be healthy. Know each other's tastes before we're in too deep and committed. Engaged, I mean. We're already a bit in too deep for only having dated two weeks."

"Are you serious?" Hermione couldn't stop grinning. "We're going to plan our wedding years in advance."

The only answer she got was, "I always fancied the thought of wearing burgundy suit or robes. Dark, purplish, like wine."

"Of course, dark. Can't let it clash with your hair." She teased, turning her gaze back to the stars. "I never liked those giant princess wedding gowns. Maybe simple robes, or something more sleek." Hermione caved. "With lace."

"Intricate. You deserve it." He offered quickly.

"Clearly this will be a wedding nobody can afford." She giggled.

Bill tutted. "What kind of witch are you? All we buy, really, is clothes and food. The rest can be transfigured or worked out some other way." Meaning place settings and table and such, clearly.

His hand held hers lovingly to his chest after he said it. "I take back what I said. This is ridiculous." Hermione joked.

"No, come on." Bill urged. "Flowers."

She hummed in honest thought. "Peonies." Their simplicity was stunning.

"Really? I always quiet fancied calla lilies."

Her heart gave an unexpected flutter. She loved calla lilies. "They'd look beautiful together." She compromised quite easily.

"Stunning."

"And smell lovely."

"It wouldn't matter as long as I was marrying you, of course."

Not having ever put any thought into when or who or how Hermione would marry, she got lost there. Bill didn't push, or even add on. They lied there enjoying that little bit of progress made. Slowly, despite it being nothing more than hypothetical at that point no matter promises, things felt more intimate between them. Despite a technical mind, she found herself wanting to say '_when_' rather than '_if_'.

* * *

When the shop opened, it was a good a time as any to go to Diagon Alley and buy school things. The morning it was planned, Bill caught her alone as she headed up to Ginny's room to gather her bag and a jacket. He pinned her teasingly to the wall, asking if she'd visit him at work.

"Save me from the desk work and goblins." He moaned to convince her.

"If I can sneak away. Now, _go_." Hermione promised.

She urged him off to that work he was avoiding. Bill left at her shove, but not before leaning in quickly and kissing her neck. He did that from time to time in his goodbyes, instead of kissing her lips. Part of her was sure he only did it because she'd mentioned how her skin burned hours after his touches.

Sure enough, her neck was warm in that one place and she kept wanting to touch it. All through shopping, sending things back to the Burrow, then off to the twins' shop. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was a crowded, massive, roaring success. But she stayed ten minutes, leaving after Fred and George teased her to try and goad her into buying one of their little love potions. She did skive off with some daydream charms, however.

Out the door, Molly caught her in the street. "Hermione, dear! How are you enjoying the shop?" The mother asked, looking at the colourful store.

"I think they're clever. It's good fun." She told her honestly. "I even bought a little something – the boys were kind enough to give me a discount."

Molly seemed pleased. "I wished they would have finished school, but I'm proud of them. Anyway, where you headed to? If you'd like a drink I could certainly round up a few of the others."

Excuses flooded her mind before Hermione just went for the nearest truth. "I thought I might visit Bill. I'm fairly interested in the details of his expedition, but it bores everyone else so I thought while I was out it'd be the best time to chat."

The woman she cared for like a mother ate it up. "Alright dear, good point. But if he's busy you don't keep him. Meet us all in the Leaky in about an hour?" Molly offered.

"Of course, Mrs Weasley." Hermione agreed with a smile before walking off to Gringotts.

When she asked, a goblin just pointed her in the right direction for Bill's office. Signs led her from there to the curse breakers section of the building. It was two levels up and fairly open, with an intricate glass dome ceiling letting the daylight in. There were cubicles, then offices. She didn't know how well Bill was doing at his job until she learned he had his own office with a plaque on the door, and she knocked. He wasn't inside when she let herself in.

But the desk was beautiful. A deep, dark brown wood with metal filigree designs on the front, the top so polished she didn't want to touch in in fear of leaving a mark if her hands were even slightly dirty. The edge of the entire top, and down the four corners, had runes painted on in a shimmering gold. It was littered with Bill's books but she didn't mind, going around to the other side. Even the drawers were beautiful.

Just when she sank into his chair in awe and _in love_ with the desk, Bill walked into his office. He saw her, paused, but closed the door with a smile. "Good timing. I get a break." He told her, coming to lean on the side of the desk.

Her mouth had fallen open long ago and couldn't shut. "This is the most beautiful desk I've ever seen." She barely breathed out.

Bill laughed at her. "Really?" Her head bobbed. "It's mine. I found it in Greece and dragged it here."

"That means it's _really _yours!" She awed. "If you ever leave, you can take it with you? It's so wonderful. I might cry."

"Who needs Grandma Prewett's ring? Whenever I get around to proposing to you I can just give you this desk."

Hermione was only slightly joking when she lifted a hand to stop him. "Don't even tease me right now. I'm emotional."

As Bill chuckled, she lifted from the seat and stepped around to him. For once she got to pin him somewhere, a hand on either since of his hips on the desk as she stood on her toes. Her lips pressed to his neck, right where he'd tortured her that morning, and then she kissed his lips. Both were accepted, and his mouth moved with hers, a little chaste but for a few seconds before they parted.

"How ever did you sneak away?" He asked her huskily.

"Actually, I didn't." She told him. "I told your mother I was visiting you. Your work bores everyone else so they'd never dare follow if I said I was coming here to chat about runes."

"You clever witch." He smiled and pressed his mouth to her forehead. "You can sit in my seat, or anywhere you like. My lap's always open." He offered hopefully.

Thinking his lap the most dangerous place, if anyone came in, she just moved a couple books and sat on the desk top itself. Bill moved to his chair, sweeping a hand over her denim clad thighs. When he settled, that hands stayed on the inner most part of her left thigh, fairly high up but welcomed.

"Have you been to Fred and George's shop?" He asked as though his distracting hand weren't nearly between her legs.

She gave a slight nod. "Just left there. It's actually wonderful, if I ignore that they're helping kids slag off. The rest of it is clever, like the fireworks or wonder witch products."

"Did you just compliment their pranks?" He asked smugly.

"Yes and I'll trust you not to tell either one of them. They'll use my words as a weapon of mass _disruption_ by giving the students more pranks I have to worry about this year." She told him bitterly.

Bill nestled down, elbow on his desk and hand still on her inner thigh. He kissed her knee before propping his cheek in his hand. "I'd never tell a soul." He swore.

She was surprised, then, to see he'd left his hair the way she'd done it. If ever Bill Weasley hadn't pulled his hair back in the morning, she took to doing it for him without a word and despite an audience. Their excuses of it being simpler held on, but Hermione was sure he enjoyed it even more than she did. Especially when it seemed he didn't care how she did it, because today she'd done a discreet French braid down the top of his head, leading back to the usual high, sleek ponytail. It had been as a joke and a bit as a test to see if he'd come home with a regular pony.

Her hands went to the long, loose pieces of his bangs and she brushed them back, fingers touching his forehead. "Do you like the braid?" She wondered.

"I love it." He told her.

"Really?" Hermione asked.

Bill agreed again. "It's an excuse for you to touch me in the morning. I know it's silly, and it's just hair… But I think about it all day at work when I can't see you. And the braid took longer. You always touched my ears a bit while doing it."

He seemed embarrassed to admit it all, his cheeks turning a bit red, and it even made Hermione blush a little. But she was also ecstatic. "I'll braid it for you every now and then." She promised.

For a bit, he just stared up at her, smiling, thoughtful. Then he let out a puff of a laugh, almost nervous. "Um, if I show you something, promise not to laugh."

She didn't say yes or no, but made an x motion over the left of her chest. _Cross my heart_. He understood it clearly and opened a drawer of the desk. "_Un_," Hermione moaned playfully. "Even the inside of the drawers are beautiful!"

Bill used that hand on her to smack her thigh playfully before he took a book from the bottom drawer. Then he used both hands to clear a space and open the book up. Immediately she saw the writing, some drawings. Little notes about fabics like silk and lace and velvet, then colours. Doodles that looked a bit like lace, and a drawing of a burgundy suit. All of it in Bill's writing and likely his artisan skills.

"Our wedding clothes?" Hermione lowered herself off the desk to turn and face it properly. She perched on the arm of the chair, Bill not leaving to a bit of her hip was pressed into him. "You put it in a book?"

He seemed increasingly nervous. "I thought that since we were both a bit book learning, sort of obsessively studious, it might be easier to fathom this way." He told her. "I know… I know you seemed a bit uncomfortable but I really liked what we talked about the other night."

"I wasn't uncomfortable, I was clueless." She told him, slipping her fingers over the page. "Which makes me a little uncomfortable, but Bill, this is really ingenious. It's sort of like a thing muggles do – scrapbooking."

Her fingers turned the page on instinct. What had been two closed pages touching, no space between, were then two open pages sprouting flowers. Bill read the awe on her face at the sight of full peonies and white calla lilies in the book.

"It's a little charm. A bit like an extension charm for bags, but for books. We could tuck anything in these ages." He told her.

The page even smelled like these flowers, lively and sweet. "Bill, can I take it?" She asked. He looked up curiously. "You've added your sketches, I want to add mine. And I might come up with something that we can play around with later, together."

He was beaming. Turning into her, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Thank you for not dismissing it. It's just hopeful of me, really, and something fun for us."

"I'll never dismiss anything as long as you have a point for it." She told him with a held back smirk.

As she thought he might kiss her, snog her senseless as Ginny would have said, the door of his office opened. Bill closed the private book quickly as the intruder gave a soft, feminine, 'oh!'

Hermione was met with the sight of Fleur Delacour. The blonde French woman gave a warm, cheery gasp at Hermione. "You! From zee tournament! 'ow are you?"

Hermione stood a bit uncomfortably in the presence of this beautiful, elegant woman. She hadn't a clue Bill worked with her, and she felt a bit nervous. "I'm just fine, Fleur. I just stopped by as a family friend to grab this book for Bill's sister. I should be off." Hermione took the wedding book, making her excuses.

"Ah, zay 'ello to see boy who saved my sister for me." Fleur propositioned but her eyes had flickered to Bill.

She gave the blonde a smile and nod, passing her. Hermione glance back to catch that Bill was giving her a fleeting look, as if asking why she'd ever leave him alone. She just wasn't comfortable with Fleur in the same room as her and him. When he called her beautiful and said he loved her, she felt like she'd suddenly dim in comparison to the quarter veela and he'd change his mind.

Tucking the books safely and secretly into her bag, Hermione went around to browse alone before meeting Molly and the others for that drink in the Leaky Cauldron.

What she wasn't aware of was Bill waiting until Fleur left to take the main drawer out from his desk. He used his wand to etch the words 'for my sweet Hermione' in the back of it before sliding it into its place once again.


	5. Chapter 5

******AN and story warnings: **This chapter is completely full of scenes of an adult nature so please don't read unless interested. Also, thank you for the reviews and sorry for the slightly long pause between last chapter and this one. Won't happen again.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Bill never could wrestle a response out of Hermione as to why she left his office so quickly. Fleur only stayed for three seconds to ask for an ink well, but Hermione had fled like the visit would be long and important. Or maybe she didn't like Fleur, since they seemed to know each other.

But it also seemed forgotten and Hermione was herself with him. They met at night, and she'd do his hair in the morning. She even braided it three out of five days since then.

Sunday night, she came to his room for only the second time. She had their book under one arm, wearing her sleep clothes, and gestured for herself to come in. Bill happily let her in and silenced the room for them. He thought, in excitement, that she'd come to show him what she may have added, but when he put his wand down and turned around, she had put the book to the side and was standing there without her shirt on.

Instantly Bill was turned on, drawing her in to lay his mouth on the softest flesh imaginable. Her breaths went shallow the moment his hands were on her ribs, his lips on the top of the swells of her chest. He nearly fell to his knees to enjoy her skin, to taste her again after what felt like so long. Had it really only been just more than a week?

Before he could throw her back onto the bed and ravish her the way he had before, she was shifting. There was the smallest little noise of something hitting the ground. Eyes moving down, he saw the result before he saw the item. She'd taken off her shorts to be standing there in front of him in nothing but very small but sensible blue knickers.

One less barrier had him just as nervous as when she first allowed him to take off her top. "Mia…" He started, the tone stating his wonder. "How far do you want to go with me?"

Her cheeks were flaming red but she seemed confident in her decision. "I want you." She told him simply. "Every bit of you. But to be… to be fair, I should say I've never…"

She just made a small gesture at herself and then him. "It's alright." Bill promised, catching her meaning and having known even before she said it. The fact that she was inexperienced felt a bit obvious sometimes. "If you're really sure–"

"I am." She cut in gently.

"–then we should take it slow." Bill finished. "The first time sort of hurts, for girls. I hardly want to hurt you."

Hermione seemed increasingly calmer. "How do you suggest we take it slow?"

He was then standing straight, arms around her. "To start, I won't make love to you tonight." Regretfully, but he rather ease her into it than just get himself off and have to worry about her mentality. "But some heavy touching, a little bit of _experimenting_, and I can show you how it may be uncomfortable."

"Alright." She agreed.

"You still trust me?"

"Of course."

It was all he needed to hear. Bill reached down and hooked his fingers into the sides of her underwear to push them down. Instead of letting her step out of them, he picked her up to lower her onto the bed.

They kissed and he could feel her nerves. As much as he wanted to take it all in, lying flush against her side, partly over her, he wasn't going to look. As desirable as she was and as tempting as it was to bask in the beautiful nudity of a woman, he kept his eyes either shut or on her face.

Moving his kisses to her neck, he waited until he had Hermione panting a bit again before stroking his hand down her completely bare side. She didn't falter of flinch when he reached her hip. His fingers danced over to the flat of her stomach, then ghosted to the crevice of her thighs pressed together without touching her most private area. Slicking his tongue over her nipple, he slid his hands between her knees to nudge her thighs apart.

Hermione complied, and then Bill was lifting his head to watch her face. "You're completely sure?" He asked gently. "I don't want to make you scared or uncomfortable, and this is technically against the law for another month."

"I won't tell anyone." She swore. "And I'm sure. Bill, _please_. I need you." She serenaded him sexily, likely unknowing of just how much her words affected him.

He gave a slight nod, then leaned down to kiss her with just love. No passion, not heated, no tongue. Just her lips and his, like their very first kiss. As he showed her that tenderness, he let his hand stroke up the slit of her sex. Her thigh flexed and she drew in a sharp breath, but then she relaxed.

Bill continued his touching, kissing her rarely, putting more concentration into keeping her comfortable with what he was doing. Because his mouth wasn't on hers as he stroked his fingers over her clit, her moan was incredibly noisy. It also pleased him to no end to know he was the first to ever hear it. He worked two fingers over the sweet nub, circling it, and when he did her things closed around his wrist.

He stilled. "You alright?"

"It feels good." She spoke shakily, nervous but not scarred. Her legs relaxed and she parted them again. "Go on, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He smiled. "Sex is supposed to feel good. It's fun. No apologies from here on out."

Only after she agreed with him did Bill continued. He circled her clit, rubbing over the mound, and kissed her neck. Hermione let off a little mewling noise and was shifting, but not tensing. So his fingers moved less predictably, finding more speed but staying soft. He wouldn't hurt her for anything.

The noise she made increased, her thighs lifted to close around his arm again, but not as suddenly and not as tense. Bill kept touching her, slipping his hand down to the wet of her slit before moving back to her clit with slick fingers, making his work easier. Hermione seemed horrified by her own sound, crossing an arm over her face, and he still continued. While his hand worked, his mouth lavished her neck and chest with kisses.

Then, as she seemed to tense up and a hand gripped his sheets, Bill stopped. She was panting and barely let her thighs part enough for him to draw his hand away. "Was that- is that what an orgasm feels like?" She wondered in complete embarrassment.

He really had to strain to keep from chuckling. "I haven't given you one yet." He'd have known. She'd probably scream – she was noisy as is. "I wanted to get you wet so we could get to the uncomfortable bit, and then I'll make you come. Alright, love?"

She nodded, an arm still over her face. "Okay, I'm going to slip a finger in." Bill explained.

So he did. Her sweet cavern was hot velvet and slippery. She tensed slightly around his digit. Bill started to moved it, slipping it in deeply, almost to his knuckle, then out. He repeated this a few times, curling his finger to rub the top of her soft walls.

"Is this comfortable?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's… awkward at first, but I'm alright."

"Can I put in a second?"

She only nodded, dropping that arm that was hiding her to rest her hand on her stomach. Bill thumbed over her clit, just a quick little stroke to distract her as he put in a second finger. Her fingers twitched over her stomach, expression changing slightly. Her eyes were closed, a bit tight but not in terrible discomfort.

"Mia, look at me." Bill pleaded.

Those eyes snapped open and she did. "I'm alright." She told him. "You can move."

He moved his fingers out, feeling a slight tightness. Mindful of it, Bill, pushed his fingers in and out of her, spreading them slightly and stroking over her walls that seemed to tense and loosen as nearly every foreign movement. He kissed Hermione's forehead.

"Still alright?"

"As long as you don't add a third." She rushed out.

Bill chuckled, ducking his head into the crook of her neck. He removed his hand from her sex. "No, I won't add a third." He propped up to look at her. "So, how do you want it?"

Hermione seemed puzzled and with a permanent blush. "Want what?"

"Your first orgasm." He reminded her. "I could use my fingers like before, or my mouth."

"Mouth?" She sounded alarmed.

He nodded. "I've never done it before but I hear it's fantastic." Bill said, leaning himself more on top of her. "Plus, I sort of want to taste you. I've half a mind to lick my fingers, Mia." He brushed his nose along her jaw before kissing behind her ear. "You always smell fantastic, and I'd love to know how you taste."

His words were rumbled right into her ear, and Hermione sucked a breath in between her teeth. "M-mouth." She stuttered out her answer.

Shifting himself down, he told her to relax when she tried to sit up. Bill posed himself between her legs without making a show of taking her in. He was, secretly, from eyes to breasts, navel to short, neat, dark hair, then even knees and toes. He was lying on the end of his own bed to be between her thighs, and wasted no time.

His tongue instantly delved over the wet slit of her sex, and Hermione wriggled. Hands on either thigh, he kept her legs open enough from his head, intoxicated with that scent and taste of her. It wasn't much different than the clean taste of her skin, but there eroticism of it made him imagine something sweet that may or may not have been there.

He worked his tongue over her sensitive nub until his teeth got curious. He only grazed them against her and she'd bucked her hips away, pressing into the bed. Bill liked it, got more adventurous. He did everything to her clit he'd do to her nipples. Sucked, nipped, rubbed delicately with his tongue.

Hermione unravelled into a moaning mess with one hand knotted in his sheets and the other in his hair. Not pulling, just there, gripping lightly, and he didn't mind. He worked her until she was practically twitching. His name was the most delectable of sounds torn from her throat. She came with a near cry, the sound choking and cutting off as she writhed like she was begging him to get off of her. Yet her hand in his hair held him there.

When her orgasm had finished, Bill lapped up all evidence of it and had never been more painfully hard. Hermione was panting and had relaxed completely, probably weak and pleased in the afterglow of it all. He sat up from between her legs, wiping the residue of her fluids from his face onto his bare forearm.

"You alright?" He asked just one more time.

She curled onto her side, which seemed foetal and shamed until she'd opened her arms for him. Bill lowered into them letting his little Hermione wrap him up in her while simultaneously keeping his hips at a distance.

But she knew, and she let him know. Because suddenly she'd curled a leg around him to pull him close, erection pressed into her other thigh. Her lashes fluttered, eyes partially lidded, and Hermione brushed his nose with hers.

"Can I touch you?" She asked.

"Only if you want." Bill let her know. "Anything you want."

Hermione just nodded and one hand left his back to go between them. He'd assumed she'd lie him down and do it calculating, trying to learn. Instead she did it where they were, keeping him wrapped up in her, and sliding nimble fingers into his pants.

They brushed his shaft, which gave a twitch, just before grabbing his cock fully. "Is there anything you like?"

"Anything you do, I'll like." Bill claimed in a rasp.

She shifted her hand so her fingertips curled around to the top of him, and stroked his length. Hermione needed concentration to do it, which was almost sexier than the act. Her twisted up face and closed eyes just showed how much she wanted to please him, and that alone nearly had Bill exploding into her palm. But he lasted as her hand moved a bit faster, sliding up due to their angle, pushing the head of his cock unconsciously into her thigh.

His breaths were shallow, moan low and quiet, but he made sure to watch her face. It was nearly embarrassing how quick he'd be, but then again he never met a woman who quite turned him on the way Hermione could. When he felt that tightening and the need to let go, Bill dropped his forehead to hers.

"I'm going to come. If you don't want it in your hand, I can finish." He warned while he still had the time.

But she didn't stop. She kissed him gently and carried on. When he came, she seemed to flinch away at first, but then her hand returned to the base of his shaft, giving him another few pulls with his hot release pooling down over her fingers.

It was unexpected, but actually very sweet and loving when she showered his face with little kisses, slowly untangling her body from his. Then, carefully, she removed her messy hand from down the front of his pants and sat up.

"I'll clean it up." Bill said quickly, grabbing for his wand. Before he could cast the charm, Hermione was licking her ring finger, a bit of white on her tongue just visible in the dark. He felt a stir, and if he weren't so tired he may be aroused again. "Why?" He wondered.

She seemed to shy again instantly, like neither one of them had ever seen the other so undressed before, let alone been intimate. "I just- I got curious because you tasted mine and… My mind went muddled before I could come up with a reason not to."

He cleaned them with a silent flick of his want, then leaned in and gave her a quick kiss despite what both their mouths had tasted recently. "Don't be so nervous with me, love." He hummed out, then put his wand down and grabbed their book. "Now, what did you add?"

They spent the rest of their time together looking over the pages, after Hermione redressed. She'd drawn several dresses, some scratched out, and then there were a couple clippings from muggle magazines she said nobody saw her get when she was in Diagon Alley (though she stepped out only to get the necessary pages before sneaking back in). As well as that, there were dates.

The entire month of April, scratch out. June 15th, scratched out. November 3rd, scratched out. A few remained, scattered over June and July, and then the one date circled was September 1st. It was clear these were meant to be days to get married.

"Why? It's the same day everyone goes to Hogwarts." Bill asked her.

She shrugged lightly to herself. "When I'm out of school, I want that day to still mean something. Hogwarts was the greatest thing to happen to me and if- _when_," She corrected when he gave her a look. "When we marry, you'll be the greatest thing to happen to me. We don't have to use that day, but it feels right."

He loved her explanation, and only had to say, "If we have kids, they'll be sent off to school on our anniversary, though."

"Isn't that better? If it was in the summer, they'd be there. This way, we shove them off before noon and can do typical anniversary things."

It was the most sound reasoning he'd ever heard, and Bill took a self-inking quill from his bedside table to make a note. He put a little check mark by it, then wrote '_best anniversary ever_'. That made Hermione laugh.

They settled one more point before she went back to bed, leaving him in a room that smelled like the sex they didn't actually have. If his hair was still long and in a ponytail, which was likely, he'd wear the partial braid from the ceremony. Hermione seemed to fancy it just as much as Bill liked to receive it, so they wrote that down. He was just glad there was no ultimatum for him to cut it. She liked it long, like he did.


	6. Chapter 6

******AN and story warnings: **This chapter is completely full of scenes of an adult nature so please don't read unless interested. Let's face it, after last chapter of course I'm going to write them having sex. Anyway! Good surprises in this chapter~ Thank you for all the reviews. I'll keep posting a bit faster nowadays.

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**Chapter 6**

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A countdown of sorts had begun. Bill and Hermione didn't say so out loud, but they both new that there were on thirteen days left until Hogwarts. Instead of speaking about it, they just kept meeting. They'd snog, touch, go over their book and invent more wedding plans, and joke around about his day or how Rom was acting, same as always.

But with thirteen days counting down into twelve, Hermione asked Bill once again for sex. Not so straight forward, of course, but it was only the third time she'd been to his room, and he was understanding the pattern. This time she didn't pull off her clothes and basically ask for it. They kissed, and he undressed her. She then, a bit nervously, undressed him.

It made them even, to see Bill naked. But he was toned, tall, and very fit. His cock was hard and she wondered if the size made him big or if she'd just underestimated all penises. Hermione didn't ask in fear if he'd fit inside her. She just trusted he'd do as much as he could to make it not hurt.

They started on his bed, like before. His fingers stroked over her, into his, and he kissed her with all he had. More intense than any other kiss they shared, tongue skilful but not too much at once. She didn't ask but wondered why he did it when Bill made her come with his fingers alone, despite her begging for more.

But then he nestled his body between her thighs and rubbed the head of his cock over her sex. It was completely slick and hot. Maybe being so wet would lessen the pain, and if not there were still enough pleasure coursing through her that it may offset it a bit.

"Are you certain, Mia?" Bill asked when he had her in his arms, the head of his cock pressed against her clit. All he needed to do was move down and they'd fit together, like she desperately ached for.

"Bill, please." She said, smoothing a hand over his hair. "Please stop asking. I'm sure. I love you, I trust you."

He nestled his face into her neck. "I love you." Bill murmured, then moved his hips down.

The head of his cock stopped at Hermione's opening, and her hips tilted to take him. With a forward thrust, Bill was in. A bit quick, but she was sure she need it to be quick because there was some pain. Pain she wouldn't have handled if suffered through slowly. But the thing was, it didn't feel like a _bleeding_ pain, just an uncomfortable stretch and resounding ache. He held still once fully in.

Knowing Bill was waiting on her cue, Hermione made herself relax. "Alright, now." She whispered.

He thrust into her, slow to start but at the lack of complaint, Bill carried on. Hermione didn't at first see how this was meant to be better than their touching, but them something inside of her felt rubbed up on. It felt better than his fingers on her clit – maybe not better than his tongue, however. All that was sure was that with every trust, inside of her Bill was rubbing something in a very right way.

As he did, he whispered to her. "That's good, love." He'd say. "Yes, Mia." Bill moaned. "I love you." He'd claim.

She was saying it all back, telling him it felt good, gripping onto his shoulders to keep from being pushed up the mattress. Bill should possibly have been more attentive on not banging her head into the wall, not that he had, but his hands were on her body, brushing over sensitive areas. Her breasts, thighs, _clit_.

With that feeling inside of her at his thrusts, this ball had formed in the pit of her stomach. A now familiar and friendly ball of pleasure, warm and seeping, ready to take over her entire body. When he added fingering her clit to it, Hermione nearly screamed out, feeling that ball tense and pulsate, growing and then tightening.

It burst with her orgasm, making her body go weak, mind euphoric, and her inner walls clenched down of Bill's pumping cock. He whispered something foreign, Latin, a spell possibly to not fall pregnant, into her ear before her buried himself to the hilt inside of her. She felt a flood of incredible heat filling her, then he gave a couple more fleeting drives before stilling just inside of her. Bill had come, and just his release and her awareness of it had been amazing.

He lowered himself on top of her, panting and shaking. Hermione didn't mind his heavy weight, her legs still wrapped around his waist and her arms going up on her shoulders. Bill kiss her gently, his long hair falling around her face in a curtain of red. He stayed heavy on top of her until she let go of her grip, both by her legs and arms.

He pulled out of her and they both shuddered, then he shifted to her side and grabbed his wand. With a flick, she felt less sweaty, a bit cleaner, save for that heat inside of her cavern. That, she enjoyed.

"My body feels like it's tingling." Hermione confessed as the man she loved rested at her side.

"Mm, yep. Tell me when you don't feel like moving for days. That's when you know you've got it good." He joked, completely flattened but head turned to watch her.

It didn't bother her when he commented that. Nine years older, she assumed and gotten past the fact that he'd probably had plenty of experience. None of it was recent, not that she knew – there was no word of him dating in the two years since they met. So Hermione breezed past it and just smiled.

"It gets better?"

He barely managed nodding, a funny sight when horizontal. "It won't hurt. There's positions. Different kinds of sex. I haven't really had anything but regular sex, but everyone raves about make-up sex and angry sex… we should have several fights in the future. Planned ones, so we're not too emotionally damaged." His words, though copious, were a little mumbled and slurred in weariness.

She gave a small agreement. It took a bit, then then Bill had gotten up and pulled on just his boxers while Hermione dressed. Well, mostly dressed. She couldn't find her shorts so she was in her knickers and shirt, noting more or less. While she clothed herself, Bill had messed with his pillow and pulled the now familiar leather bound book from under it.

In just a week, so many things were added. Hermione tucked in swatches of blue and violet fabric she liked, a spell or two for erecting tents, then a horrible drawing of a tent behind the Burrow. So bad she had to label what was what and Bill still squinted. He agreed to marry her at the Burrow, however.

Then he'd added a photo of his desk, schemes of how to ask her to marry him, and the other day he added in the corner of a page how many kids he wanted. It was just a little 2, with a decent teddy bear sketched there and in parenthesis he'd put '_try for girl_'.

It should have scared her when she saw it the next time she'd stolen the book, but Hermione actually put decent thought into it before responding. She a bit heartless x-ed out his 2, leaving the rest but adding '_At least 3, and hopefully more boys. If we have all girls, I will pull a Molly and aim for a boy._' The next time she saw it, Bill had just written that he loved her under the rant, with a heart.

Now, she didn't know what there was to add. Maybe he'd write down the angry sex, fighting clause. Instead, he flipped to the page when he'd scribbled down his proposal schemes and that had the picture of the desk clipped to it. Bill reached into the drawer of his nightstand as Hermione sat with him.

He pulled out a diamond ring and some blue ribbon. "Bill…" Hermione questioned carefully.

"Grandma Prewett's ring." He told her casually, sticking part of the ribbon into the binding magically. He began to tie the ring to it. "It's mine, for whoever I want when I'm ready. I'm just saving it."

"Shouldn't you let Molly save it? Until you _need_ it?" Hermione pointed out as he finished the bow and tucked the ring into the pages.

He wore a cheeky smile. "Well, yes, but I went through all the trouble of stealing it earlier today, so I may as well hold onto it."

Her eyes rolled. There he went, reminding her that he was a Weasley in case she ever had doubts. "Do you mind if I open the window? It's warm." Hermione commented.

"Go for it. We should probably air out the room – we Weasleys are meant to be celibate, and it smells like sex in here."

The embarrassed her only slightly, but she got up and shoved the window open. The cold seeped in, air moving about, and she happily tucked under Bill's offered arm. Hermione took the book while he seemed frustrated with his loose locks and began to sort himself out and pull it all back. She helped herself to a quill and a new page.

"Rounds tables or rectangular tables?" She asked, titling the page '_Seating_', though it was completely doubtful this would be the final draft. They'd meet new people, maybe break a few bonds, or just never marry. "I'm partial to round."

"You don't know how sexy it is that you're taking the book seriously." Bill growled, hair sorted out. "It was just my lame mid-twenties crisis and you're giving it life and possibility."

Hermione held the quill away from the page. "It's sexy to like planning my life?"

"Our life." He pointed out. "Our kids are in there, at least in number. You have a whole page dedicated to S.P.E.W. or becoming a curse breaker with me. Our wedding plans aren't the only thing in that book anymore, Mia. That's very sexy."

"I'm leaning towards law. S.P.E.W. was always my thing, and I can't encroach on yours. Maybe hitch a ride for a few weeks in Egypt or Poland, but I want my own career." She decided on a whim. Her heart, however, was pounding and stuck on the fact that he'd called her sexy. Even more flattering considering they'd just had sex and he found her dedication to this book grounds for more. "I'm going to go with round tables unless you object."

"I like round tables. Easier to see who you're with." He answered.

Hermione just drew a few bad circles and started putting names down all over. She paired Ginny and Harry off even if they weren't together yet, then her and Bill, Molly and Arthur, Ron and- well, next to Ron she just put +1. That made Bill chuckle, and he started to add people and suggestions. He thankfully reminded her that she needed her family on there as well, and she did scribble down some Order members after. The circles meant to be more guests were just labelled into three groups. Work friends, future friends, and people they forgot (to which the quill was stolen and Bill added '_and therefore probably don't mean too much_').

They were just talking about working on a secret page at the back of the book about sex to try. Angry, make-up, and so on. Very last page, so it wouldn't be smack in the middle of all their romantic plans. Before they could actually flip to it, however, Bill's door burst open and a frantic Ginny was hissing into the crack.

"Bill! Hermione went missing and I don't know who else to talk to–"

As they scrambled to hide the book and Hermione held in a swear as she realized she still didn't know where her bottoms were, Ginny's tired eyes seemed to adjust to the dark of the room. She threw the door open aghast and Hermione's face went into her hand for a moment before she looked up at the girl.

"Ginny." Bill spoke slowly, hands up. "Please come in a close the door."

"Why- why is she-? Where are her-?" Ginny started, but Bill cut her off.

"Ginny, the door. You can close it and we'll talk, but silencing charms don't work when the door is open and none of us want mum and dad in here right now." His tone was very quiet, low, and slightly condescending. But Ginny seemed to gather what he was saying better when he forced her to realize she needed to be logical.

The young Weasley girl closed the door and Bill re-silenced the room. The moment his wand went down, Ginny shouted, "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"Oh, God." Hermione was appalled and felt horribly nervous.

Bill didn't seem to have as good a grip now that they had to say something more than close the door. "I know this looks bad, Gin." He started.

"It looks like you're _shagging_ your little brother's best friend!" She shrieked.

"Thank the heavens for silencing charms!" Bill breathed and then moved to perch at the edge of the bed. "It's not like that, Gin. You know us both. Are either of us the type for a casual shag?"

"_You_ might be." Ginny glowered at Bill.

"What? When have I ever!" He complained noisily.

"I don't know! You haven't dated since before my puberty hit! I didn't know what a casual shag was back then, but maybe you had."

"If it's been that long then clearly I haven't and thanks for keeping track." The last bit came out sarcastically. "That was incredibly necessary information."

Hermione sat a bit uselessly on the bed, having pulled the blanket over moved of her. Ginny gave her a glance and she felt incredibly red. "So you're not just shagging?"

"No." They both said at the same time.

It felt necessary for Hermione to say it. Like Bill saying it and her being silent wouldn't be right. So she elaborated with, "We've been seeing each other a while. The whole time everyone's sort of been calling us good friends, really."

"But that's, like, all summer." Ginny marvelled at them.

"Well, it's been over a month, just." Bill said. "It started because Hermione can't sleep through the night all the time and I get up to talk to her – well, I say that's how it started but I'd probably have gained some nerve even if you weren't up at night to approach you." He told Hermione.

The redhead girl struggled. "But- this, it isn't legal! She's sixteen! You're almost thirty!"

"Twenty-five, thank." Bill said sardonically again, peeved.

"And I'm seventeen in only a couple weeks. The wizarding world doesn't have age restrictions once you hit seventeen." She'd done a little research into it. She wouldn't dare mention what the muggle world thought of it all.

"So you've been sleeping with my brother for a month and I only just found out now?" Ginny accused.

"Whoa! No!" Hermione denied loudly. "I've only been in his room three times, _ever_, and we were not sleeping together."

Bill rubbed his cheek in thought. "Well, save for–"

"Stop it!" Hermione cut him off before he could tell his little sister that they'd just had sex, not even an hour ago, in this room. Ginny didn't need to know about Hermione's recent loss of virginity.

Bill just gave her a gleeful look, brows up and smile actually somewhat innocent. That was the same look her gave her at the dinner table when they chatted and he seemed to have liked something Hermione said or did. In the nights, he'd tell her what it was and say he was falling more in love with her. That look was him loving her, and she softened instantly.

"Oh, Merlin's saggy left…" Ginny trailed off, calmer than a moment ago as she looked at them. "All the looks you give each other at dinner when you talk, and Hermione doing your hair in the morning. We all thought it was just some cutely weird friendship, but you're in love. Are you two really in love?"

"I'd say we are, deeply and more than we should be." Bill responded softly, in a heart-warming voice. His hands folded together as he leaned his elbows on his knees, looking up at his sister. His smile didn't change or fade, just sweet, and Hermione stared longingly. "It's ruining my sleep and I have to wait a couple years, which I will do happily, but I'm going to marry her, Gin."

But Ginny crossed her arms sceptically. "And you're sure that Hermione feels the same way? You're not pressuring her?"

When Bill looked back at her, she braved the situation to sit at the edge of the bed with him. Her hand slipped to his, taking one instinctively. "I am not so easily charmed." She claimed. "If anything, I've been pushing him a bit more. And in a few more years, granted all goes well, I'd marry him in a heartbeat."

"Look, I know it's massive but you can't tell anyone about this." Bill told Ginny. "Right now, just for the time being, it is illegal. And with two years of school, it's also a little wrong and a lot of time apart, so it's not worth mentioning just to be berated when we can't see each other. You understand?"

"Yes." Ginny sounded a bit upset, but not unhappy. Just… touched. "I can't believe you two are in love. It's so weird, especially with everyone teasing Ron about Hermione- well, I'll certainly stop that now."

"Are you alright?" Hermione questioned. "I mean, it'd be weird of me to date any of your brothers, I think, and I want to know if you're okay that it's Bill."

The girl waved a hand. "Better Bill than anyone else! You two are, well, I'd say two sides to a coin but considering you're both nerds let's go with page in a book." Ginny told them.

It was good to hear it and that she had said it. The three both gave small laughs and the situation sort of dissolved itself.

Then Ginny picked up Hermione's shorts from the corner and threw them at the girl. "You, my room, now. I don't care how in love you are, you're not staying here."

So Hermione pulled on her bottoms, Bill pulling her down to kiss her cheek, and then she left with Ginny. She had a feeling the two would be talking about this tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

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It was one of those rare times where everyone had to step out. Molly had to take Ron and Harry for fittings due to school robes being too small, Arthur was called into work, the twins obviously loved their new shop and stayed away from the Burrow, and Bill had a day off. This left Ginny, Hermione, and Bill with no secrets or hesitance for at least four hours.

So it didn't matter when Ginny came down for the lunch Hermione made and found Bill just standing behind her, arms around her waist. In fact, she seemed to coo at them when she said, "You guys have it _bad_."

Hermione moved from his arms to give Ginny the plated pasta. "It's day time. We never get to touch in the day time." Bill pointed out, gathering a plateful to pass off to Hermione.

"Except when she primping you for the day, with those fancy hair styles." The girl teased and they all sat together at the table with their food.

Today was no different. Hermione looked at Bill and gave him a smile, his hair tied back by her not two hours ago. "Everyone just thinks Bill's gotten lazy." Hermione pointed out.

"Spoiled, not lazy." He commented. "And besides, I look better because Hermione does it neatly. People comment. Fleur Delacour likes when I've got the French braid."

Hermione stilled for barely a moment before she acted like she didn't hear a thing, but Ginny wasn't as quiet about it. "Who cares about Fleur's thoughts? Anyway, I didn't know you worked with her. Why are you talking about your hair with her?" She sounded mean, vehement, as though Bill shouldn't know that French woman existed.

He shrugged. "She mentions it, I say thanks and walk away?" He offered, confused as to what was happening. "She just works part time at the bank and likes to talk to people because she's working on her English."

"She visits your office specifically." Hermione reminded without her voice sounding like anything but casual. She would applaud herself later on mot being jealous, at least not out loud. "At least she did when I visited."

"To borrow an ink well. You never did tell me why you left when she showed up!" He brought up again. It had been a while and she'd gotten him off the topic once before, so Hermione had a feeling he wouldn't let go.

Ginny cut in, thankfully. "Your secret, underage girlfriend does not need to give a reason for your co-workers to think you're up to something. Especially not someone who means as little as Fleur."

"It would hurt your name, and you're doing well. You're expedition is soon, on top of everything." Hermione played along, smiling at him. "I didn't need Fleur telling anyone I was staying for an extended amount of time."

Bill let the argument fall away, smiling at her before kissing her nose. They made it through lunch with lighter conversation, though it was the first chance in the few days Ginny knew that she could question them both. So she did, but it wasn't tense, not terribly awkward, and the questions were more like 'when did you get together,' or 'do you go on real dates'.

After Bill set the dishes to washing, Hermione lingered by the table. "Hey, who has the book?" She asked.

"I do." He said. "It's under my pillow. I'll go get it."

"Book, what book?" Ginny questioned from the doorway as Bill passed.

He let out a quick little laugh as though it were too much for Ginny to understand in a few short words. "We have a book." Hermione elaborated slightly. "We just stuff it with pictures and silly things. Little plans for the future."

The sister glanced back, making sure Bill was well up the stairs before she whispered. "You think you're going to have a future? Like, a real, married life?"

Hermione understood the tone. It wasn't that Ginny doubted it, it was more that she couldn't believe who was telling her this. Hermione's rational mind was planning a hypothetical future. Of course, she always put her heart into it and loved that book as much as she loved Bill, but how much she believed in it was faltering.

So she struggled. "Well, it feels good when we plan these things. It just feels nice to have some thoughts, but I don't know." She admitted. "I always say if, and he says when. It's a bit of a stretch to assume that we'll stay happily in love and together for years."

"My family would rave and rip you two apart from each other now if they knew." Ginny continued whispering.

That made the curly haired girl nod. "I know! Even in a year, though. I'll be in school and they'll not like it. And with you-know-who being back and all, I feel like there's a thousand things to keep up apart. So while I know I would marry him, a part of me doubts it'll ever happen, and that breaks my heart."

Ginny looked sympathetic and started to step forward, arms out to hug Hermione, when they heard the squeak on the stairs. They just made the embrace quick, and not much comfort, before Bill came back with the book. It was getting a bit worn in for how short they had it, a few things sticking out of the pages.

"I added a few things. Music, mostly." He told her while handing it over to Hermione.

She smiled. "No offense at all, but I have a feeling these song won't be slow enough to actually dance to." Hermione teased, looking at his very vandal fashion sense. Today was a t-shirt, leather waistcoat, and jeans with a hole in the knee.

"Yeah, doubtful we'll get a first dance out of my song list." He agreed as she grabbed a muggle pen from a drawer, left go Arthur to play with years ago.

While she sat down, Ginny was invested in finding out what the book was. "So it's, what, like where you'll live and kid's names?" She asked.

Those were the two things not in the book, actually. "Um, no. It started off as just playful wedding plans." Hermione looked at Bill, who didn't seem bothered that she was opening it up in front of his sister. "Bill claims he's at that age, you know. I tease him about it, but I do take the book very seriously for his sake."

"You like it more than me." He mocked her back, grinning.

Ginny stole the book after seeing the first page. A slight sound of complaint came from the other girl, but Bill just chuckled. It felt so private, but Ginny just seemed to content, smiling at their odd quirks and what had made it inside. Clothes, flowers, a mock-up menu, the tent designs at the Burrow, centre pieces, cake, seating. But it wasn't just wedding stuff. She found the page about Hermione's job wants, the places her and Bill tucked pictures in of, where they'd like to travel. Their list of how many kids they wanted made Ginny snort and then laugh hard.

"You'll pull a Molly for boys!" She read off. "Oh, that's so sweet. You'll stop at a male me."

Things kept wanting to fall out but Ginny was careful to keep it all in. Then she flipped through quickly, coming across the engagement ring which had been tucked into the front of the book now rather than the middle.

"Oh, Mum's gonna be pissed. She noticed that this ring disappeared yesterday and is trying to remember when she may have misplaced it." Ginny fingered the silver band of diamonds. "But I like your guys' life. Mark me down for babysitting and free reign over someone's middle name somewhere in your swarm of kids, because you owe me for keeping this secret."

"Don't be torturous. Remember that you had to live with Ginevra and do not christen them something awful." Bill responded in a threatening tone.

If those were the conditions, Hermione didn't mind. She just agreed and opened to a new page to write out that Ginny had one middle name to give in their possible future. It turned into a joking session or what they didn't have – names. Ginny gave a few, Bill started chiming in, and Hermione just wrote it down.

"Allen." Bill claimed.

"God, no. Boring." Hermione wrote it down, but put _(awful) _after it. "I like Crowley."

"Sounds Slytherin, though." Ginny mentioned.

"Gildon?" Hermione stated instead.

Bill hummed deeply next to her. "Decent. Write it down. Maybe in four or so years it'll be perfect. Elena?"

"Oh, that's very sweet."

Hermione put that down as well. She did put Crowley on the list, with Slytherin written under it as a joke. This book was meant for their every thought, so she wasn't going to leave it out. They ended up with two entire pages, a little section on one side for Ginny's suggestions, but then they knew they had to stop. It was somewhere near fifty names for 3+ imaginary kids.

She wanted the book to just add to the little invitation page, and then flipped to Bill's song list. As she was writing names, Ginny posed one of the most important questions that they hadn't thought of.

"Are you going to have a muggle ceremony or a wizarding one?"

Hermione stopped writing and looked over at Bill. He seemed as lost as her. "Um, what's a muggle ceremony like?" He asked.

"The bride walks down the aisle on the arm of her father to give her away, then it gets a bit religious, far as I know. Words are spoken out of a bible about the muggle god, we promise ourselves to each other for better or worse, and kiss the bride." She summed up. "What's a wizarding one like?"

"They're beautiful." Ginny said. "Mum told me all about hers."

Bill, however, answered in detail. "You start by walking in on my mother's arm, actually. Like she accepts you and loves you in a show that you are good enough for her son. Then there's the vows."

"They're very old, but they're better than you'd expect considering they come about through copious amounts of arranged marriages." Ginny said.

"What are they?" Hermione asked.

"First, you'd lay one hand over mine and they'd tie us together, to form a bond as we make out vows. The ones for me to you would be that I am sworn to protect you, to give you all you need, and basically support you." He said, which to Hermione sounded sweet. "Your vows to me are to be my rock, the better woman behind the man, to guide me on my path. They're very assuring that it is the woman who is really in charge of the man."

Her mind went to Molly and McGonagall, just as strong women, and then even to Narcissa Malfoy, who seemed to reign over Lucius and Draco. It fit. "I want a wizarding ceremony." She claimed.

"Are you sure?" Bill asked. "I know you're very proud of yourself and I don't need you to appease me. You're in charge." That was added with a little smug grin.

Hermione was positive. "Muggle ceremonies are fine, the vows are about equality and love eternally, but it is religious and they're awkward, especially when you consider the fact that about half married muggles get divorced. The only thing I want to preserve may be my father walking me down the aisle." She told him. "But I love your mum and I think, if I tried, I could figure out a way to have her walk with me as well, maybe to my father before he gives me away."

"I think they'd both love that." Ginny told her, meaning Molly and Hermione's dad.

Bill jested, "Do you think if we put in a clause that Percy has to officiate, it'll get him talking to the family again?"

Hermione saw that Ginny and him both looked a little upset at his own comment. "It won't take him that long to come back. But let's force him into it anyway." She claimed, and he smiled at her.

The pen was slipped from her hand and Bill wrote it all down for the two of them. He went as far as transfiguring little scraps into gorgeous ribbons as options for when their hands were bound. Some of the ends hung out of the book as he closed it.

They were about to talk more, Ginny asking if she could be in the wedding party that Hermione and Bill had already listed on one of the pages (she wouldn't let Ginny know she was maid of honour just yet, or that Charlie would be best man). But before she could claim it was secret, they all heard the floo. Bill pulled the book into his lap to hide, none of them realizing just how long they'd been sitting there, and Ginny jumped to her feet.

Thank the stars for Ginny, because she ran into the living room to meet her mother and the two boys saying, "Finally! You can save me. They're talking in length about Poland again. Mum, you should come help me put these two boys to work. We have flowers to plant before the term begins."

That got everyone out into the back garden against Harry and Ron's wills. Ginny just winked back at Bill and Hermione. She had a thought when they were alone.

"We need to stop with the book." She told him.

"You don't like it anymore?" Bill assumed.

"No, I love it! But now we really are ahead of ourselves, with baby names…" She didn't feel uncomfortable but knew they had to just take a step back. "But there's nothing else to plan, either. We've done literally everything for a wedding and more, and it's _nice_, but it's not like we can find a house or anything so far in advance. Plus there's all of three pages left."

He took in her words carefully. "You're right." He agreed. "We need to just ignore it. Hide it."

Then Bill moved back and shifted to table. He lifted it and pulled another book out of under one of the four legs. Hermione never even knew it was broken, but the table wobbled when he took it out. Then, he just shrunk their book to about the same small size and put it under the table leg.

"What- in the kitchen? What if somebody decides to read it?" She hissed at him.

"Mia, that table leg's been broken since I was seven, and with the same exact book under it. Nobody is going to read it." Bill told her before banishing the old book.

She did relax. Then nodded. "And even if they did, it's not like our names are inside." He looked sheepish. "You mean to tell me that you actually wrote our names inside?"

"Well, yes, but in the very back. I was testing it out. Mr and Mrs Bill Weasley. Bill and Hermione Weasley. Bill _Granger_ even."

It sounded so foreign and just off, making her laugh hard and suddenly. "No, never. I would never keep my name, or have you take it."

"You don't want Granger to live on?"

That made her sentimental, for a moment. "Not in the wizarding world. I have enough muggle cousins to take care of keeping that name going, but I don't want to _stay_ Granger forever. I know there's a hundred of you Weasley boys to pass on you name, but I want to be a part of that someday."

There was that loving look on his face, his hand brushing the loose bits of his hair out of his face. "If my mum wasn't looking in the window right now, I'd kiss you and tell you how much I love you." Bill told her sincerely.

Hermione turned to look out the kitchen window, Molly waving. She and Bill waved back. "I'd let you." She told him, then caught that Molly was gesturing for her to go outside. "I'm going to go garden. I'll see you later."

"Alright." He agreed, and low enough that there was no way any one could see, Bill pinched her bum as she got up. Hermione just went outside with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN and chapter warnings: **I promise I didn't take that pause on purpose and I am sorry! Also this chapter contains sex. Just so you know, but all of you who are still reading know and probably expect it by now. Thank you for everyone who has reviewed and followed this story.

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**Chapter 8**

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Two days until Hermione left for school, Bill broke down. He hadn't meant for it, but they were walking out in the orchard and he just started to feel a sadness in the pit of his stomach. When she kissed him, he cried. Just silent, tears on his face, and no way to stop it. Hermione took him in her arms and soothed him, but he was crying into her shoulder.

"I thought I was okay with you leaving." He spoke a bit bitterly.

"Well, I'm hardly okay with going." Hermione responded, and he heard the tears in her voice before he pulled back to see. She was crying as well, wearing a frown.

He smoothed his hands through her hair, tucking it back so he could hold her damp cheeks. They were both just a mess.

"We'll have Christmas together, if you come here. And letters. I'll write you so many letters, Mia." Bill promised, pressing his mouth against her forehead. He held her there for a second before drawing away. "And your birthday. I'll most definitely write, and send you something for your birthday. I'll still be in Poland – maybe I'll find something just perfect for you there."

She held his arms, nodding in the hold between his hands. "And I'll write you for yours. November 29th; I remember. If I can owl a gift, I will, but otherwise I'll give it to you over Christmas break."

"You don't have to get me anything." Bill denied.

"Well, neither do you, but if I get a gift, so are you." She countered.

There wasn't any way to respond to that but the kiss her. It was heated in an instant, their sadness forgotten. Bill pleaded for entry to her mouth with a slight bite, and Hermione accepted. He lavished her with tongue, with care, holding her gently despite the passion of their kiss.

They could have stopped there, just snogging themselves happy and delusional for a short time. Probably would have, as well, because Bill was still so careful of hurting Hermione. But then as they kissed, her fingers were pulling on the tie of his pyjama bottoms, undoing them. It wasn't her initiating anything, but her giving permission for him to, because she stopped after pulling the bow loose, but arched into him, hands at her sides willing to let him get carried away.

So he did. They were far from the Burrow and under the cover of trees either way, so he stepped out of their embrace to take the blanket from around them and lie it down on the grass. It would be cold, but his body was already feverish from their kiss, and he'd keep Hermione warm. Before she could shiver, he pulled her into his arms and lowered them down onto the blanket.

Bill couldn't control himself around Hermione. He felt too many things, wanted too many things. Most could wait a few years, but he made up for it here. In this moment, everything he selfishly wanted was avenged as he gave her what she had asked for.

He explored her with his tongue, needing his hands over his skin. Hermione's moaned were muffled as she bit her lip and tried not to make too much sound in the open air of the night. A pert nipple, hard from the cold, was pulled between his lips as he pushed her shirt up. She arched up into his mouth to take care of taking off the shirt herself, leaving it hanging from one hand as her arms fell down to her sides.

He swirled his tongue around the peak and rutted his hips into hers. He felt his hardening cock between her legs, harnessed in his bottoms, rubbing against her clothes core. His mouth worked over her chest until those little pink buds seemed swollen and marks were sure to be left for days to come. Then Bill pressed himself between her legs, letting her feel everything that she did to him, before taking her mewing mouth with his.

They kissed with need, and Hermione pleading his name every time he allowed her to breath. He felt her grind against his cock eagerly as he licked over her fiery tongue, delving deeper each time. When her little ministrations became too much for him to just ignore and hold back, Bill swept his hands under her to lift her bottom. He sat back on his heels, practically pulling her into his lab as she lied down, his hands guiding her legs to rest hooked over his shoulders.

This way it was easier to see her, to undress her. But before he removed her bottoms, his fingers slipped into the side of her shorts, seeking out the heat of her sex. They ran over her knickers, beginning to become wet and soak through. He drummed his fingertips over her sensitive clit and slit.

"Dammit, Bill!" Hermione swore for the very first time that he ever knew off.

Not another word was needed. While he wanted to work her up, the complete ghoulishness of her swearing was more appealing than it should have been. Bill removed his hand to removed her shorts and knickers in one go, sweeping them up her legs and off from around her feet.

Holding the small off her back up with both hands so her bottom half was still lifted, he propped up onto his knees, ramming his still covered cock against her bare entrance. Hermione let out a yelp that lowered into a moan as he rubbed against her. He let her down to remove his pants before lying himself between her open thighs. His body covered hers to keep her warm like he promised himself.

"Ready?" He asked, no longer asking if she was sure. Hermione would tell him to stop if she needed, or retract the offer if she ever wanted to, but she was egging him on.

At her nod, he used a hand to guide himself to her cavern, and swept in all in one go. There wasn't a breath of discomfort and anything in her expression but flustered want.

As he took her he knew it would be the last time until at least December, maybe until next year altogether. Bill took his time, and despite his needy and vengeful taunting and idea of foreplay, the sex itself was loving. His pace inside her was as slow as their first time, and he coddled her with feathering kisses over her closed eyes and panting mouth. He had the woman he loved wrapped up in his arms and just hated to have to see her go in what was likely less than thirty hours.

He made sure she came with obtrusive touches in places that he learned she liked. Like the underneath of her thighs, this spot behind her ear that he kiss, the occasional cup of her breast. Not once did his hands go down to her clit to make her pleased like before, wanting to find every other way to make Hermione happy. And she did eventually release, with a cry his muffled with his own mouth.

Taking her through it, drawing out her orgasm that had her clenching around him, Bill managed not to come himself. He wanted this to last, just a bit longer. So he whispered words of love.

"I'll miss you," came out on accident. "It'll be alright, darling," came after.

Then she leaned up, her forehead against his, lips brushing Bill's, but it wasn't a kiss. She just panted with him, the two sharing air and hot breaths seeping out against their skin. "Come for me, sweetheart." She told him with what little air seemed to be in her lungs.

He murmured a bit of magic for safety and let go. Bill came while buried deep inside of her, choking on his own groans.

He had barely pulled out and settled his weight off to the side before the tears hit him again. Hermione just pulled him close like she was protecting him, being his rock, and she pulled the spread out blanket around them. They lied there for what was probably hours, half asleep and whispering consoling words to each other.

This tenderness was what Bill needed more than the sex. An understanding of how shallow his life would feel with her gone, but the promise that he was also exaggerating. They fought off the cold just wrapped in one blankets, whispering like long time lovers or saying nothing at all.

When the sky turned less black and more blue, they knew they had to get inside before anyone woke up. They dressed quickly, and then practically ran back to the Burrow. Bill made sure not to put the blanket back on the couch, not after how they used it, so it would go hidden into his room until he could wash it himself.

At Hermione's door, he didn't kiss her again, save for a quickly peck to her head as they hugged. Then he went back to his room to pretend to sleep for the two hours before breakfast. He wanted to mourn, knowing that tonight, their last night, he couldn't actually see her. Hermione had to ready herself for school the next day, and the likeliness of Bill being able to kiss her again before she left was an absolute zero.

But at least when he went down a mess, Hermione took extra-long to braid his hair.

* * *

It finally happened. The day that Bill and Hermione were silently dreading. The return to Hogwarts.

They didn't get to see each other or even manage a private goodbye, there was such a whirlwind. Hermione felt like she had slacked that summer and panicked over last minute packing and books the entire day before. The closest they got to a farewell between just to two of them was the other night, making love in the open air and just crying in each other's arms.

That was a whole other distraction in and of itself.

Like he said he would, though, for Ginny and Ron and secretly Hermione, Bill came to see them off. He worked a couple hours and then met them at the Burrow just to leave again for Kings Cross. He was close, though. Hermione could feel hi half a step behind, just to her side, commenting on how everything in the station seemed to have changed since he was last off to Hogwarts.

At Platform 9¾ he made a big show of hugging everyone. First Ginny, really tight and hard, and Ron who look a bit ill content with the contact like any teenage boy would when cuddle by a sibling. He even hugged Harry tight, which really came off as odd.

But it was all an excuse, an obvious ploy to Hermione and Ginny, so that it wouldn't look odd when he opened his arms saying, "You too, Hermione."

She dipped into his grasp for that hug, hugging him back lightly. But his arms were so far around her that his hand could almost reach her front again. Then, she felt a shift in the pocket of her jumper just before he pulled away. She didn't dare look then, but there was something inside and it hung a bit with weight.

They all said goodbye and boarded the train. Harry and Ron found a compartment, while Ginny made the excuse of wanting to find other friends first while pulling Hermione with her. They entered their own compartment, completely alone, and Ginny locked the door as Hermione sank down.

"How are you?" Ginny asked.

While the older witch assumed that she would be asked about Bill putting something in her pocket, it seemed Ginny hadn't noticed. She was just concerned. "Heartsick." Hermione offered, handing slipping in to find what he'd done. "He gave me something when we hugged."

Ginny was right at her side, eager to know what it was. Hermione pulled out a note and an object that she _knew_ just by feel without opening her hand. She hid it while reading the note, knowing the sister would be looking over her shoulder.

'_My Mia,_

_I didn't get a proper goodbye to say just how pained I feel, but I think you know. I'll write you until you're drowning and letters and can't stand me anymore. I love you more than anything._

_x Your Bill._'

As Ginny took the note to read over again, Hermione looked down at the object in her hand. "I never thought Bill would be the romantic sort!" The sister claimed.

"It gets more romantic." Hermione smiled a bit smugly.

Then they were both staring. In her hand was that precious fang earring that was never absent. How they didn't notice Bill wearing it that day was shocking. Ginny even gasped.

"He hasn't taken that off in six years! Mum will be ecstatic that it's gone!"

The funniest part of it all was that Hermione could never wear it. Not because people like Ron or Harry would know. She could care less what they thought of her with Bill's earring, and if anything they did seem like friends that summer. The problem was that Hermione was a bookworm of a girl with frizzy hair and never wore any jewellery, let alone something as brutish and masculine as a fang.

She laughed, to start. And then she started to cry. Ginny rubbed her back, and she pulled herself together quickly. With a quick wipe of her cheeks, hiding everything away, they went back to the boys for the rest of the train ride.

About two hours in the boys ran off to change and hang out with other boys. They'd done this before and would probably be gone an hour or so. The moment they left, Ginny was a fountain of wonder.

"You think you can make it until Christmas?"

Hermione shrugged. "I think so. We'll write, we both have birthdays so there an obligated contact, and then I'll be back at the Burrow. But it is three months. _And a half_. Oh, Merlin, I didn't think about how long it was until now! He's not going to see me and he'll find someone else."

"'Mione." Ginny tried to stop her panic.

"He will! I'm nothing. I'm a sixteen year old student and he's Bill! He's smart and sweet and funny, a bit sassy but it works for him!" She ranted. "Girls like him. I know they do. And he works with _Fleur_."

The girl made an understanding sound. "So you are worried about Fleur."

"She was enraptured by him when she barged into his office! And she came in so _casually_. Of course I'm worried about Fleur!" Hermione paled. "I can't be better than a quarter veela. He'll see her every single day and she'll compliment him and smile until he falls for her."

"Bill would _never_ fall for Fleur. He looks at you like you are Aphrodite." Ginny snarked. "It's disgusting, really, how he gives you that puppy smile and sweetly giggles… There's nobody else around in his mind when you're talking to him. It's so obvious I don't know how the entire family doesn't know you two are shagging."

"We are not shagging!" Hermione defended, and quite loudly. It just so happened Pavarti and Lavender were walking back with sweets, and they looked in, giggled at what they heard, and went off. Now there would likely be rumours of her shagging someone, and school hadn't even started yet. "Honestly, Ginny! It's not like that."

"So you haven't had sex with my brother?" She questioned. Hermione was giving a blush worthy of a ginger Weasley, neck to the tips of her ears. "It's alright if you are. I go back and forth between finding it weird to wonderful about five times a day. Right now I'm thinking wonderful, so if you are you can tell me."

She was fidgeting and so deeply uncomfortable, which may as well have painted a picture, but Hermione didn't want Ginny thinking they'd just jumped right into bed. So she admitted it. "We've only done it _twice_, and only very, very recently."

"Okay, now it's a bit weird." Ginny teased with a smile.

Grabbing Ron's discarded quidditch magazine, Hermione slapped Ginny's leg with it and ignored all further questions. Thoroughly and blatantly, she turned her shoulder away from the girl, tucked into a book, and just tried not to cry again, or think about Fleur Delacour.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN and chapter warnings: **Only two more chapters to go after this! I loved all the reviews that you guys sent me for the last one and I'm just glad they were all so kind (because I have a feeling that is going to change).

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**Chapter 9**

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Bill wrote the best letters. Hermione started getting them three days into class. He raved about Poland in a short two or three sentences, gave a paragraph about how he missed her and how he revisited their book and that she was right, they had to take a step back but he still loved the memories associated with every page. Then how he loved her, and wished her well.

She responded with similar sentiments, refused to let herself write anything about classes lest it make her seem too young, and she wanted to cry when she sent to letter off, but in a happy way. It felt like they could manage. Especially as letters continued. Her birthday letter was the third he managed to send.

There was a parcel with a book, pages filthy and etched with black runes. She hardly cared, as excited as it would normally make her, because she instantly went to open Bill's letter sitting ontop of it in the little box.

'_My Mia_,

_Happy birthday, here's hoping. I did try to find an owl up for the journey that'd make it in time. I hope this letter finds you slightly well, not too happy, and lonely, because then we would be even. My work was a fantastic distraction but I did end up leaving Poland a couple days ago and have been missing you increasingly._

_The Burrow is never the same during the school year. Usually it's just odd due to the absolute lack of people, and Mum only makes a third or less of what she normally does, which is shocking! But this year is worse because I am cursed to have memories of you all over this place. I wake up at night when I have no reason to be up and damn you, Hermione, I need the rest. I'm blaming you for this._

_Anyway, this book came home with me from my expedition. It's hardly anything of complete interest and not at all dangerous, I made sure. It's an interesting book about old laws and customs in the wizarding world. Considering future plans, I thought it'd be interesting for you if you care to translate it. To make it more interesting, it did used to have a little curse on it that made me sneeze three days straight, but that's been lifted and my nose is glad to have the break. But now I'm back to my sad desk work. (I bet you're jealous, though. I get to sit behind my lovely desk that moved you to tears.)_

_I love you and miss you. I was joking when I said I hope you're doing so horribly. Be happy, study hard, and don't let Ronnikins copy your homework._

_x Your Bill._'

Like with the last couple letters, Ginny stole it to read under the table at breakfast. After Hermione finished, she took the book from the box and cracked it open. It was horribly dusty and very beautiful.

"What's that?" Ron asked incredulously, eyeing the parcel since it landed on her table and only able to see what was inside when she picked it up.

"A book, Ronald." She said obviously.

He rolled his eyes. "I know _that_, but who sent you that filthy, old excuse for a book? And why? Is it a punishment?" He scoffed at his own joke.

Hermione shot him a dark look. "Honestly! It's exactly how it's meant to be. If you've not remembered, though we've been friends for years, today is my birthday!" She retorted. His face fell, the only one who hadn't said a word amongst their group. "And your brother Bill has kindly sent me a gift. It's from his dig in Poland."

"I think it's great. And Ron's just a forgetful git." Ginny said with a slight smile, folding the letter and tucking it secretively into Hermione's school bag.

"Happy birthday, 'Mione." Ron told her sheepishly.

This was when Bill's letters were still good.

* * *

Early October, she got another that didn't change in tone at all to start.

'_It took Mum a month to notice that I don't have my earring anymore. A bloody month. We were so incredibly obvious around each other but I'm certain even if she saw us snogging it'd take her a lifetime to figure out we were together. I should have taken advantage of her good faith more. Then again, we did do a lot of rule breaking_.'

That made Hermione laugh and she was thankful she was alone when she read it. Ginny wouldn't be able to resist poking to learn _all_ the rules broken. Hermione was just curled in a window seat of the library, smiling at the page and reading on. This is where it too a turn for the worse.

'_I look like shite every day, by the way. My hair's awful, mostly. That, again, is on you. Your fault. My knots always come undone and I couldn't find a muggle hair band as you called it. Silly rubber thing that it was, completely lost._

_Fleur Delacour tried to braid my hair. She really liked how you did it, Mia. I really like how you did it too. It wasn't the same. She doesn't know how to make it look the way you got it to look, and it's a bit tight. She's done it three times now_.'

"Three times!" Hermione complained out loud, under her breath.

That was _theirs_. She did his hair, she touched his ears, taking her time, and he just went and let Fleur braid his hair three times for no reason? Her heart broke. If it was just once, she'd understand, but three times. If he didn't like the way the she braided it, why would he continue? Unless he did like it and that was just omitted in the letter.

Hermione started to worry, and only skimmed the letter. It was normal well wishes and him imploring her to say hello to Ginny for him. Then she was back to the common room, and modesty be damned, she had Ginny read the letter.

At first she did laugh a bit and look ready to goad Hermione about breaking the rules, until she read on. "That bint!" She shrieked.

It was her only real fear, in plain text before her eyes. "The _one_ person I worried about…" Cringed Hermione, biting back a familiar sadness. "One month apart. That's all it took? I'd hoped…"

"No, Hermione, stop." Ginny cut in before she could wallow too deeply in her pity party. "It's one mention, one letter. He says she's bad at it anyway. I saw breeze over the Fleur thing completely and just write him back. Don't give her a thought, she doesn't deserve it or him."

The younger girl was right, of course. So Hermione responded like she usually did, even if she felt a bit nervous and saddened when rereading the letter to formulate her own words. Instead she said Harry was going through some things, that Ginny was dating and Bill would hate all the guys, and that Ron was starting to snog Lavender on a daily basis. She put very little about herself, but did end it with her love and well wishes.

His next letter came four days after she sent hers off, which was their usual timing in responding.

'_My Mia,_

_Go Ron! Though Ginny on the other hand is not allowed to date. Tell her that the minimum age for it is thirty, or I'm telling Mum that's she's being unsavoury. Please, please, let that be a lie, but still a viable threat. So clearly Harry hasn't realized he fancies her yet? He stared at her enough, or maybe he just stares at everyone, I don't know._

_I like the family update but you didn't really tell me how you were. I sit in my work desk daily thinking about how you might be, or what you're doing. When I was in sixth year, Transfiguration went over conjuring furniture. Think you could make a desk as lovely as mine? I still can picture you perched on it, my fingers warmed by your thighs._

_If Fleur didn't interrupt, I'd have christened the damn thing, if only slightly. She's always walking in here. I have to tell her to knock every single time. I think I've loaned her five ink wells. No idea where they end up. Sometimes I'm surprised that she'd gotten this job – tri-wizard tournament or not, she's a bit too funny to work here, and I don't mean humorous. I mean odd. _

_Anyway, I'll write again soon and can't wait to hear about how you are. Tell me what you think about saving a little desk play for another day._

_x Your Bill_.'

It shouldn't have hurt, but it killed her. In the same letter that he brought up being intimate, he ranted for a paragraph about Fleur Delacour. Hermione didn't let Ginny even know she'd gotten this response. She didn't need the sister to see this and blow up on either Bill or Fleur herself, whether with a howler or over break.

All she knew is that it was no longer just one slip. He hadn't said he didn't like her this time. Bill even let one just how often Fleur visited his office.

It all hurt. Ached to her bones and made her feel hollow. Hermione didn't even think once of responding to it and after throwing the letter into the Gryffindor fire, she threw herself into her studies.

He wrote again the next week wondering why she hadn't written, assuming she was uncomfortable about corresponding with him about sex. It included his little catch up of how things were and how he missed her. It didn't mention Fleur, but for some reason it still made Hermione cry.

When she ran off upset, Ginny pursued to comfort her. She didn't explain what had her upset, but Ginny was wise enough to assume something happened between her and Bill. Hermione was suddenly glad the girl had caught them, otherwise she'd look like a crying fool with nobody to care as to why but herself.

* * *

Bill was painfully aware that Hermione stopped writing. It had been three weeks. Three long weeks, and not a peep. He kept writing her, every couple days, but got nothing in response. At least, not from his girlfriend.

Yesterday he spent a lifetime trying to figure out what he'd done and only sent her four words. '_Are we broken up_?' Not five minutes ago, Bill was at work and got an owl, but it was from Ginny. It was short and sharp, not with the usual light tone his sister wrote with, and for once the page not drawn on with hearts and flowers.

'_Bill, _

_Please stop writing Hermione. She just cries and her grades are slipping dramatically. Every professor and Gryffindor here would be out for your blood if they knew you hurt their star student. Just leave her alone_.

_From Ginny._'

He stared at the page ever since he opened to note, having hoped so much that it was from Hermione. His head was in his hands and Bill didn't understand _anything_. Something changed dramatically in three weeks and he had no clue what and wouldn't have a clue until at least Christmas, _if Hermione even decided to come to the Burrow after this_.

That thought was what officially broke him when he was holding up just fine, and Bill cried to himself. Absolutely silent, hidden in his office, just trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong.

He still had his head down when the door opened. Then there was a quick and light, "Woops! Sorry!" And it shut again.

The person knocked. Bill knew from the voice and just plain shoving in that it was Fleur. He hadn't seen her in a couple weeks, at least save for in passing, not since he told her that he didn't like his hair being touched. He started to wipe his face, and though she'd finally upgrading to actually knocking, afterwards she didn't wait for an answer. She opened it again and poked her head in, grinning.

At least until she saw his tears and red face. "Bill! Are you okay? Haz something 'appened?" She asked with small worry, coming in.

He scraped his palms over his face really quick, then, and took the letter Ginny sent to hide in a drawer. "Like what?" He asked, voice dull and lifeless.

"You have a lot of family, no? Are zey all okay?" She wondered.

His jaw clenched and unclenched when all he wanted was to apparate to bloody Hogwarts right then and there.

"They're fine. My, um… My girlfriend broke up with me." He admitted painfully. The blonde woman seemed intensive, listening. "Or I think she did. I haven't heard from her in three weeks and my- a mutual friend told me to stop writing her."

"I am zo zorry." Apologized Fleur, sincerity in her expression. "You will be fine without 'er. Do what boys do, go out and drink, while complaining about 'er, yes!" She offered like it'd be helpful to him.

Bill could see a lack of social outings in how she assumed that's what _every_ man did after a break up. "No, no drinking. Even if I wanted, not many people knew we were dating."

She seemed to hesitate, mouth pulling into a line. He was about to tell her to just go, that it'd be fine despite how big a lie that was, but she spoke first. "We girls, we like _ice cream_ and tea after big break upz. If you would like to, after work we could juzt talk about eet?"

It took a little convincing, but with nobody else to talk to he found himself agreeing. Right after work, they went to Fortescue's in Diagon Alley for ice cream, and Fleur patiently waited for him to open up. He left out details on who she was or how old, but he explained that Hermione and him had been perfectly fine with the distance until her letters suddenly stopped.

He didn't intend to receive Fleur's sympathies. He didn't want them. But she understood and just let him ramble.

Bill most definitely did not mean to _or_ want to kiss her when the night was over, either. But somehow with his broken heart, he just stepped into her open arms and let it happen.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN and chapter warnings:** Thank you for the massive influx in reviews. The majority were actually quite dedicated, articulate, and nearly premonitions. Some of you took some really great guesses as to what was going to happen next.

Now I know certain parts of this chapter may be a little cheesy but they're going to come into play at a quite later date. No real warnings for it save for one: After this, there's only one chapter left! Happy reading, everyone.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

* * *

For Bill's Birthday, Hermione still sent his present. She'd found this jacket in Hogsmeade when she was trying not to think of him, but it just screamed at her. It would fit his wardrobe whether she ignored him or not, and her hands had grabbed it. Worn in, soft but thick denim, with lapels like a blazer but not as cut.

Originally that was going to be it, until she found a stupid little pair of earrings. Well, little was the wrong word. Hanging from a ring was a little sparrow's skull, long beak down, and she couldn't resist. She only sent one of the two.

He responded despite her note only saying '_Many Happy Returns_' and not another letter, not even her name. He still addressed it 'My Mia'. In it were heart felt thank yous in shaking writing and still bright proclamations of love and hopes to see her at Christmas.

She didn't answer but Christmas would be a perfect time to talk. She was being petty holding onto a simple paragraph that, once her mind cleared, she realized was _complaining_. Hermione needed to just forget it, or maybe tell Bill her dislike for Fleur, and everything would be good again. Desperately she wanted everything to be good, because her grades took a small hit and she missed him more than she ever thought she would in these months.

Ginny was supportive when Hermione finally explained what had happened, and promised to punch Bill if he ever stepped out of line. That made her laugh, and she pleaded the sister not to, but it seemed set in stone if the smirk she got in return were anything to go by. They all got to the Burrow four days before Christmas, not long before dinner.

Hermione didn't even go to unpack or rest. She walked in and Bill was sitting on the couch with Charlie and Arthur. He was wearing the coat, and most definitely wearing the earring. She wondered how that went over with Molly after the happy loss of the fang. The other two men got up to greet everyone and run about to help Molly in the kitchen.

Bill, however, just gave Hermione his loopy little smile, the one she always read as love, and his eyes were pleading. Her heart pounded when she smiled back at him, and he got up from the couch. The man gave a little nod and led the way until they were ducking into the privacy of the little scullery off the kitchen, door closing behind them.

"I'm sorry." They both blurted out all at once.

Bill went on with, "I don't know what I did–"

Just as Hermione was saying, "I was being petty–"

"I fell to bits when you stopped writing–"

"There wasn't even a good reason for me to stop writing you–"

Then they both shot out, "I love you." Not in synch, but voices overlapping. Bill gave a warm laugh and Hermione couldn't help giggling as his hands took her face between them.

Their first kiss since their long night of crying months ago was slow and sweet. They could hear the family bustling about and feet on the stairs right about their heads, but they were in their own world and didn't care. Let them be caught snogging, Hermione thought, as long as she could carry on.

But Bill parted from her, saying, "Listen, I have something I should tell you, and I'm really sorry because you might get upset."

Before she could worry or even ask what it was, Ginny's voice reached them. "Bill!" She shrieked somewhere above.

The snuck out of the scullery, the majority of the people not in view of the room. "Bill Weasley, where the bloody hell are you?" Ginny shouted louder, stomping down the stairs.

"Here?" He called out carefully.

Just as everyone convened in the living room to see what was going on, Ginny launched off the stairs. She was red faced and very angry. Despite that, there was no real warning when she drew back an arm and punched Bill with all she had in the mouth. They both let out a cry, Ginny shaking her hand out and Bill holding his mouth, everyone alarmed. Hermione just stared on, ready to ask if the girl was out of her mind, when a tinkling little French accent cut in.

"Bill! Are you alright?" Fleur Delacour asked, standing a few steps up on the stairs, and looking _beautiful_ in a blue dress.

Hermione left Bill's side immediately because she no longer felt petty. She felt angry and right and stupid. So instead of checking Bill, even as he seemed to be bleeding, she gave Ginny and her concern while checking the girl's hand. The younger witch stared up at her privately, brows knitted in regret, and Hermione really had to swallow back tears. Bill had actually left her for Fleur Delacour.

It was all they talked about at dinner.

Why Fleur was there. "I could not go back to France to zee my own family, and Bill invited me 'ere."

How they got together. "Bill was upset and we went out for ice cream, and afterwards 'e kizzed me and we became a 'we'."

How long had they been dating. "A month and a 'alf now, I zhink."

For a month and a half. This basically meant that he waited all of two weeks after Hermione didn't write to find another girl to coddle. Just because she didn't write didn't mean she didn't care, or maybe she was just busy with school work! If he couldn't wait two silent weeks why did she ever think that they'd actually make it through the next few years, let alone a life time?

But then again, she never thought that. She always assumed something would happen, but when she assumed that she though what would break them up was war, regret, jobs, or something more in the future. Not her short silence and Fleur Delacour.

Hermione didn't say a word all dinner, but neither did Bill. He was better at it, though, because he still smiled at Fleur when she looped her arm with his, shrugged off his once hurt mouth, and even batted away Charlie's joking fist when the other brother mocked hitting him again.

After the meal was over she was ready to storm up to Ginny's room, but the girl stopped her. "That's not such a good idea. We're sharing with Fleur all holiday." Ginny warned her.

That must have been how Ginny found out, and why she punched Bill. Hermione just gave a nod, but as her head bobbed she started to cry. The younger witch took care of her by turning to the boys.

"Ron, Hermione and I are going to hang out in your room and you two can't come in."

"What, why? It's my room!" Ron complained, nobody noticing that Hermione was crying.

"Because I said so!" Ginny snapped at him, and the two went up the stairs.

On the second landing, they got caught by Molly, who was bringing down last minute presents to put under the tree. "Oh, Hermione dear, what's wrong?" She asked so sweetly, too sweetly.

"I just… I miss my family is all." She lied and sniffled.

The woman offered her everything under the sun, from a hug to tea to a quill so Hermione could write them. She refused everything as quick as she could, and once they were allowed to pass, the two ran all the way up to Ron's room on the top floor.

* * *

Bill stayed up all night in hopes that Hermione may wander from her room. He wanted to talk to her, but in a house full or Weasley's and company, that was hard to do when nobody knew they were a couple in need of privacy. Well, an ex-couple. He didn't want to be, though. He'd kick Fleur out in a heartbeat if Hermione just said that it was alright. And he would agree fully if she said everything was his fault for straying.

The only thing that kept him awake the next day was Fred and George up to their usual tricks. They hung up mistletoe, and if you got stuck under it, you had to kiss someone or you were held there magically. Bill got caught under it and Fleur fluttered on by to kiss him before he could grab a willing sibling to peck his cheek. He hated himself.

When she then flounced off, the twins came up tsking him. "A two? You can do better than a two." Fred – or he was sure it was Fred, at least – said in disappointment.

"What are you on about?" Bill asked.

"Must Kiss Mistletoe." The twins said together while George started to move the chalk board from under his arm.

It was littered with names in pairs, and numbers. The latest being him and Fleur, with a 2. "We charmed it, you see." George started.

"The mistletoe reads your feelings when you kiss to judge the highest possible mutual love." Fred explained.

"Meaning one of you is loving the other a whole lot less than you're letting on, and it isn't Fleur. She's smitten."

"And getting a two is like…"

"Kissing a troll." Both the twins said together.

George pointed at the first set of names. Him and Fred. "See, it goes familial, too. We got a seven."

"Mum and Dad, romantic, got a nine." Fred pointed to the next names.

"We've made it virtually impossible to get a ten." The other brother explained. "Otherwise Mum and dad would blow off the charts with a fifteen, you know?"

While he wallowed over the proof that he couldn't ever like Fleur, Bill just nodded. "It's clever. Did you sell that in your shop?"

"No. This is a prototype." George said. "Though, it's perfect so far."

"Next year." Fred nodded. "But Bill, do better than a two."

"Yeah. Nobody needs to see how angry a veela gets when you tell them they kiss like a troll."

They left him there, free to move from under the mistletoe, and Bill felt sick as they hung the board up by the mistletoe. Nobody really knew what the numbers meant, but they'd know it was there, with his sad two. Hell, even Harry and Ron got a quick peck on the cheek and earned a friendly five.

As he stared, Hermione's name was on there once. Ginny, with a six. They must have gotten closer because last Bill knew the girl he loved was only really friends with the boys.

He was still standing there when someone passed, bumping his shoulder. He felt the stick of this magic this time, and an alarmed sound came from the person.

"Don't you dare kiss me." They ground out, and he looked down sorrowfully at Hermione.

"We're stuck otherwise." He pointed out, his voice sounding hollow.

"I don't care. I'll wait until someone else comes along, just not you." Her eyes were on the carpet, body angled away from him, everything about her posture and face reading as pain. Bill's hand went to her back and while she seemed to relax, she told him, "Don't touch me."

"Mia." Bill murmured, aware that everyone was either outside or upstairs. They were alone in the doorway from the kitchen to the living room. It was the only chance he'd had so far to get her alone, and it wasn't ideal but it would do. "I really still love you. I do, and I couldn't ever have what we _have_ with Fleur."

He refused to say 'had' because he still felt everything under the sun for her. "What we had? You mean candied words and sex? You've got to be sleeping with her – you slept with me after a month."

"No." Bill denied hastily. "I wouldn't. Ever. I told her that I was waiting for marriage. We barely even kiss."

That made her scoff, not happily. "You wait for marriage? That's like saying… well, apparently like _I'd_ wait for marriage." Hermione bit. "Why haven't you? Just get to it already. She's lovely."

"She's shite, honestly." Bill officially sounded a bit peeved, and he didn't mean to. "I kiss her out of obligation if she manages to drag me out. We're not physical, and all emotion, but even then our emotions are way off. I wanted to rip my own ears off sometimes when she talks about how she feels."

"Funny, I'm feeling that way right now about you." She complained. That actually did hurt him. After their endless nights of long talks, to have her not even want to hear him speak hurt.

"You just wouldn't write me, like you're not talking to me now! And when Ginny told me to leave you alone, it was right after I asked if we were over. I don't know what- what I was thinking. I didn't want it to be over and I had half a mind to visit Hogwarts, but she barged in while I was crying…" He got off all at once.

Hermione's arms were crossed, her body shrugging off his hand. She turned to him only slightly, still not looking up at him. "I don't want to know. I feel so stupid."

"You're not…"

"But I am! I felt so _awful_, so guilty for going with one boy to a Christmas party in school and I was going to come here and we'd make up. I felt _guilty_, but you're here with a long relationship! About as long as ours was, in fact, if you don't count the time I was in school. And I trusted you with all I had."

Bill remembered the night she told him that, and what she said. "So if I said I hung the moon in the sky, you wouldn't believe me anymore?" He asked.

She gave him a fiery look, the first time their eyes met since the day before when she arrived. "That's irrational." She didn't answer, but he felt the massive, resounding no.

People came into the room from the yard, wet with snow and laughing. "Oh ho! Look who got caught under the mistletoe." Charlie mocked them both while taking off his coat, not even hiding his arm tattoo since Molly already beat him up about it.

Hermione turned away from Bill. "Harry, would you mind? I don't feel terribly comfortable kissing a taken man." She said.

"No, no, no, you have to kiss Bill! Otherwise he'll be stuck, too." Charlie, clueless dolt, complained before Harry could help.

She was ready to complain, but Fleur shook out her coat saying, "Just kees 'im! It is the holidayz, it iz what mistletoe iz for!"

It felt like slow motion as she turned to him, resigned. That wasn't the happy Hermione face that he was used to when he was leaning in for a kiss. She didn't want him right then, and certainly not in front of everyone. But she also didn't move, so Bill leaned down and pressed his mouth, closed and chaste, against hers.

Everyone cheered and clapped like it was a game as they pulled away, barely touching for two seconds. Hermione peeled off from the spot to Harry and Ron, pretending to smile while telling them to get on dry clothes. Bill moved from the mistletoe and before he even remembered the chalk board, the twins were shouting.

"A _TEN_?!"

Bill turned to it. After _Bill & Fleur – 2_, was _Hermione & Bill – 10_.

"What are the numbers supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

Highest possible mutual love. Meaning Hermione still cared for him. "It's supposed to be- I think it's broken, Freddie." George complained.

"We'll have to fix it, Georgie." Fred agreed.

They took the board down as people seemed to let it slide, but they didn't leave without giving Bill and odd look. He just walked into the kitchen, only his mother there, and sank down in a seat to rest his head on the table. Nobody bothered him after the first two times he said that he was fine.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN and chapter warnings:** Last chapter! It's been quite the time posting for you all and some of you have even been following and reviewing from chapter one. Thank you deeply and I hope despite the bleak way I've set up this story you've all enjoyed it.

After this I am going to take a small pause between this and the sequel so any news may be posted as an additional chapter to pose as an Author's note. I do, however, have a one shot written to go between this story and the inevitable second part. I will inform you when I post that as well. Thank you sincerely to you all for sticking with me!

(Also a warning to Fleur lovers out there: she's a horrid person in the short epilogue at the bottom of this chapter and I'm sorry. I love Fleur in the series honestly and hate to do this to her but I have to for my other ship of course.)

* * *

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Hermione found herself incredibly unable to sleep. Ginny was out in one bed, and Fleur peacefully breathing in a cot. She wanted to die. She had no ill will against Fleur, she realized, when she didn't feel the need to smother her like Ginny suggested. Hermione just wished that she wasn't there.

So sleep eluded her. Venturing from her bed, Hermione just craved a bit of her old routine, like warm milk that didn't actually make her tired. She snuck from the room and carefully went down the creaking stairs. It felt different than summer, where her sleep clothes were little while now they were in fact a jumper and long bottoms, or how there was snow on the windows, fogged up as they were instead of clear and showing the clear night outside.

No matter the season, of course, the Burrow was beautiful. She moved to the fridge wishing it wasn't also such a sad place for her right then, when there was a low voice behind her.

"There's cake on the bottom shelf."

The same words, the same tone, the same person that started her up six months ago. Hermione stopped before opening the door to look at Bill sitting in the dark at the table. He wasn't laughing at her, or enjoying cake this time, though.

"There's always cake on the bottom shelf." He murmured, swirling a glass in his hand. "There's firewhiskey on the counter, however."

His drink of choice, clearly. Hermione wanted to spite him, to shout, to just walk away. But she didn't because on top of being somewhat angry and a lot hurt, she was also just sad and longing.

Instead she grabbed a glass like intended, but instead of getting milk she grabbed the firewhiskey and sat across from Bill. He watched on as she poured herself a glass, then held his own still as she gave him some more. She'd never drank a day in her life before, but she did then.

It burned like nothing she knew could and was an awful bitter taste, but she swallowed it down. Across from her, Bill took a sip without the additive of an odd face to keep the shock in. He was a more experienced drinker, obviously.

"I don't want to be in this place." He spoke first, sitting up more properly and plunking his glass down on the table. At first she thought he meant the Burrow, but he carried on. "Where you and I being pitifully depressed drinking firewhiskey is exactly how we should be acting."

Despite the sick taste and off feeling, Hermione took another full sip that she had to swallow down thickly before she retreated from her bravery and spit it out. "It's because it's Fleur." She spoke up.

The man seemed confused, his hair hanging loose and a right mess, adding to his distressed look. "So you're not angry that I dated, but that it's _Fleur_?"

"That's not what I'm saying." She refused before words could be put into her mouth. "I'd be upset either way because you didn't wait for word from _me_ to go out and snog someone. But it's _Fleur_. The part veela perfect girl that everyone wants. I knew she liked you and that made me defensive from the start."

"Then I'll wake her up right now and tell her that I am leaving her."

He started to stand but she launched across the table to put her hand on his, stopped him. "Bill, you're going to make her as miserable as we are, because you may not like her much but she certainly likes you."

"So you rather be miserable instead?" He countered, sinking heavily into his seat. "Or make me be miserable by keeping her here? I didn't want to invite her from the start, but she asked to come and what was I supposed to say. That the girl I really love will be there?"

At least that poked holes in the story of Bill asking her there out of sympathy. "I'm not saying this to make either one of us a martyr."

"No, you're saying it _exactly_ to make us both the martyr. I don't want this. I don't want to be up at four in the morning drinking firewhiskey and having a fight with you." They'd promised not to fight, unless planned. She remembered lying in his bed giggling about it all. "Are you telling me not to break up with her because it's the holidays? Because it's not a very merry Christmas either way."

"No, I'm saying don't break up with her." Hermione spoke smoothly for the first time in days. She didn't know the truth of how she felt until that was out of her mouth. "I'm not ready for this. As much as I love you I- I am only seventeen and I got jealous enough to break us up just because you said her name in a letter. We can't be together at all while I'm in school. It's too hard."

"No- No it's not. Hermione, I can take it. I can never mention anyone else in our letters as long as I know that it upsets you. I'm sure I can visit–"

"I won't be writing you anymore." She said firmly. "And if you visit, it won't be with me, alone. I won't let you."

He sucked in a breath. "Why? Why can't we just fix it? It's so simple!"

And it was. If he only let Fleur down gently and Hermione remained honest on what would hurt her, they'd be fine, but she shook her head. "I feel like if we carry on like this, I'll be childish and you might be slightly stupid. Things will keep happening and we'll be having a fight. I've never really had a relationship, Bill, and I don't know if I can do it now."

"Can you just stop? Stop saying you can't be with me." He pleaded.

"I can't." Swallowed Hermione with nerve. "This is exactly how we're meant to be acting, so drink."

As she tipped her glass carefully to her lips, Bill tossed back the rest of his and stood suddenly. Her eyes went downcast, thinking he'd walk away. Instead he was moving around the table, leaning down behind her, and engulfing her completely in his arms. She shuddered at the familiar warmth and set her empty little glass down.

"I'm sorry for all the mistakes I've caused." Bill murmured. Before she could say he wasn't really to blame, he kissed the side of her head, voice in her ear. "I'd take you fighting or freely, you know. Even if things would be rough while you're in school, I'd make it work, and we'd be happy. But fighting is no way to start a lifetime together."

Her hands went up to hold his arms wrapped around her. "Will you still marry me?" She asked with some desperation, all that she'd allow for the time being. "Even if its years? If you don't move on while we're broken up."

"I'll never move on."

"I really hope you don't but…"

"You can say that you doubt me, Mia."

She didn't, hearing his broken tone. Hermione just turned her head, pressing her forehead to his. "Will you walk me back to Ginny's room?"

All she wanted was a blanket and to take a walk with Bill. To do what they'd always done. Hermione didn't want to go back to sleep, certainly not with Fleur not even five feet away, but she had to. And he agreed, letting her go to help her up. They put the glasses in the sink and the firewhiskey on the counter, missing at least a few glasses when compared to yesterday.

They said nothing as they went up the stairs, but Bill was right behind her. As they took the steps, his fingers brushed hers before he grasped her hand completely, just holding it.

At the familiar door, they were put in an unfamiliar situation. There were always pecks on the cheek, during that time before they'd started dating, but what did they do now that they were broken up? Certainly not snog like every night for the second half of summer.

But Bill looked down at her, gently, his eyes flickering to hers, then her lips. It felt fateful, like it was necessary, and it also felt inevitable. Hermione didn't say anything, yet they both knew her answer was going to be a yes. For a brief moment a sad grin pulled at the corners of his mouth, while she instinctively moved forwards with her hand still in his, to just be closer as it happened.

They weren't quite touching, but she felt the heat of his body near hers. His other hand trailed up her arm from her elbow, blazing her skin for what she knew would be the last time. At least, in this version of the present, with him dating Fleur and her having broken both their hearts. It'd be too long before they even had a chance to rekindle this thing between them, granted neither of them moved on.

It was only when his ghosting fingertips reached her cheek that Bill kissed Hermione. Her breathing was ragged before their lips touched, and then it was the most sensual moment she'd ever experienced with him – _so why did it have to be the saddest?_

When they parted, it was too soon. Eighty years too soon, it felt, and Hermione felt herself well up. Before a tear could drop down her cheek, Bill was brushing it away with a thick, sorrowful swallow.

Then he tapped the tip of her nose with one finger with a forced smile of endearment. A mournful giggle left her despite it all. "Don't forget me when everything's over." He whispered.

"Promise." Hermione agreed and hated the chill of her hand as he let go of it.

They feigned happiness for a moment. As long as it took her to hide in her room and for him to make it to his own. Hermione then kept her crying silent as she tucked into bed, Fleur sleeping too peacefully nearby. But Ginny woke up, halfway.

"Did you see him?" the sister asked in a mumbled, half her face pressed into a pillow.

"It's over for good." Hermione admitted wistfully. "Just sleep."

"I'm sorry, 'Mione." Ginny said while shifting herself into a comfortable state, ready to pass back out.

Hermione said nothing.

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

That holiday became known as the Christmas everyone cried. It was just an accident. The day after their breakup, Bill found himself barely wanting to get up, and waking with his face already wet with tears. Molly tried to comfort him into coming down for breakfast, and he told the worst lie of his life – that he'd only stubbed his toe and it really hurt. After his mother left, Ginny came in to give him a hug and settle their feud that had existed since the girl punched him.

Ginny also cried. But that was on Christmas day itself, during dinner. Bill and Hermione just got back to a place where they could talk, as long as they only talked about his work otherwise he might lose his mind. She made a warm comment about the book that he sent her for her birthday and he was filled with such a fondness and smiled. Ginny took in the look she'd seen before, knowing it to be love, and started to snivel right there at the table before excusing herself.

The only happy tears were from Fleur. Hermione had gone out the day before Christmas Eve to put her mind at rest by getting the blonde girlfriend of the man she loved a gift. A nude pink pea coat that had the woman launching herself at her from across the little gift giving ring, spouting out gleeful French and tearing up.

She'd given Bill three things. Technically one gift, and two little acts that she had to do before things were officially done. The gift was a toy mummy she charmed to clean his work desk, which he guffawed at before looking particularly sad. Then, in private, she gave him back his fang earring, and the second sparrow skull for the set, having no use for either.

The last thing she did was braid his hair, Christmas morning. Before all the gifts and crying, before anything bad happened, she did his hair one last time. Fleur raved.

"Bill! You 'ave not worn your hair zat way in months!" She fawned noisily. "I love eet! I would braid your hair, but you do not like to be touched."

That made Ron and Harry snort. Ron whispered to Hermione. "I bet she's just rubbish at it, huh 'Mione? Considering you're always doing his hair."

"Possibly." She just smiled and ignored it otherwise.

The next time she even saw Bill after the holidays was months later, the night that Dumbledore fell. The night Bill Weasley was attacked by Fenrir Greyback. Everyone rushed to St. Mungoes the next day, the earliest chance they had to see him, once word got out – the Weasleys, Hermione, Harry, and several other Order members. Even Fleur was there.

But faithful Fleur, who'd dated him for seven months, couldn't take it. She apologized to Bill fifteen times over before people realized what she was doing, and that it should be done in private. Nobody had time to leave before she was saying it, however.

"I theenk it iz best I return to France. I cannot look at you!" She told him, crying.

Bill just sat there with half his face covered in bandages, as well as other little parts of him, blood soaked through. Apparently the blood matted his hair because it was now cut above his shoulders, long but not as long as it had been. He looked horrible and everyone was fawning and crying over him, especially Molly and Hermione. Then they heard Fleur, loud and clear, and snapped their heads to look at her. Molly had always thought Fleur would be shallow, only into Bill for his looks, but to have it confirmed was sickening to them all.

Fleur went on with, "And if something happenz- you may be a werewolf!" She sounded sickened, despite Remus saying five times over he wouldn't be afflicted. "I can not be with you. You are- are- monzter…"

Hermione just lost it at that point. She started shouting. "What he may or may not become has nothing to do with who he has been all this time!"

"Hermione!" Harry tried to warm her off, but she ignored it.

"How can you be so heartless and unfair? He's never been prejudice to your veela side, but here you stand shouting out woes of how he's suddenly not good enough?" She snapped, so forceful and noisy healers were looking in on them while Fleur started to take a step back, threatened. "_You're_ the one who's never been good enough for a man like Bill Weasley! You- you–"

This was a low point for Hermione, who was sobbing and raving. She generally prided herself on coming up with intelligent insults for people. Like Ron, having the emotional range of a teaspoon, or Malfoy being a foul, loathsome cockroach. But the words that came out of her mouth nobody expected, let alone herself.

"–Shallow fucking _bint_!"

You could see the flare of anger in Fleur's eyes, recognize the anger of the veela in her. Hermione nearly expected the actual change, but only being a quarter, the girl wouldn't be able to even attempt it. Suddenly people were pulling them apart, but surprisingly they weren't pulling Fleur from her. Hands dragged Hermione back from where she'd cornered the blonde, who just turned on her heel and stormed out of the hospital for good.

As people soothed her, cheered her on quietly, and generally scolded her language, a soft, hurt, low voice cut in over them. "I'd like to talk to Hermione alone for a bit."

Bill. Of course everyone let him, leaving the room. Not before Molly fussed with his pillows to make sure he was comfortable sitting up, however. Hermione felt a rock in her throat, thinking he'd be angry or say he could have worked things out with Fleur if she hadn't blown up. Maybe he'd tell her to go apologize so the French witch would come back to him.

That in mind, Hermione started apologizing right away, and at super speeds, but he shushed her and put his hands out. She complied in taking them, crying softly, still frightened of what he'd say but willing to do anything for him in this state. Bill only had one eye and his frown to convey emotion, but she recognized the absolute pain from having cause so much of it herself five months ago.

"It's okay." He told her, voice rough, and it looked like it hurt. A bright red scratch went across his mouth, and still he spoke. "It's okay that she's gone. I never loved her. I didn't even like her. Not… like I love you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about my face."

A sob hit her hard and she lifted one hand to touch the unharmed side. "I don't give a damn about your face." She told him.

"Really?" He wept.

Hermione nodded and leaned forward, barely touching her head to his.

She visited often with him that week as he recovered. Just as a friend, a few hours a day. Maybe even as family. But not as a girlfriend. Never as a girlfriend.


	12. AN about one shot

**AN:** So I just posted a short one shot that takes place at Shell Cottage with a very obvious title of 'Shell Cottage'. No real romance and _really _short so don't get your hopes up too high, but check it out! I put in the summary of the one shot what I was doing with the sequel for those of you who want to know.


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